Live in the Moment
by Dreaming of a Black Fox
Summary: [Temporary hiatus for the sake of the plot] [SI-OC] Death is final. Not so final now, is it? Too bad there's not a second restart button, because I do believe things got worse when I (accidently) killed a god.
1. Whistling Hawk

**WARNINGS: Clinically insane OC (narcissistic personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, magical thinking), SI-OC, dimension travel, time travel, violence, language, gayness, nudity, LGBT members, really bad morality in general and dark themes.**

 **If you're sensitive to psychoneurotic disorders and conditions in general then AVOID this story.**

 **Tbh this was inspired by my fellow fanfiction writer and fren HybridTrash13. Their stories are pretty cool, especially By Any Other Name. Check it out, 'cause it's also a DT SI(ish)-OC story. This story was also inspired by Assassin's Creed, specifically Ezio Auditore da Firenze's story.**

 **Official first chapter will come 4/23. BTW, Happy Earth Day!**

 **Original chapter word count: 736~**

 **Recommended songs: Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park, Our Demons by The Glitch Mob feat. Aja Volkman, Monster by Imagine Dragons and Can't Shut Up by Anthem Lights.**

 **Enjoy! :3**

* * *

 _Prologue: Whistling Hawk_

* * *

My favorite foreign language quote has always been _à goupil endormi rien ne tombe en la gueule_ —a closed mouth catches no flies.

It was said back in 100 B.C., but that didn't impact my liking to it.

 _À goupil endormi rien ne tombe en la gueule_. It was relatable…for me, at least.

And I still do love the quote—and it was because of that attachment to that damn thing, that the quote became a moral.

But my moral became the death me, it seemed, because falling from the second tallest building in China was the result.

Wind was whistling in my ears, the pressure hitting my skin and making me numb. Short brown hair kept in the flow of the wind, my expression surprised but almost relaxed.

I didn't care if I died, that's what I tell myself. My inner voice is so loud sometimes. It is helpful—keeps me optimistic and wanted in my loneliness and hatred.

My depression is the recessive, my voice the dominance. But I kept quiet about a lot of things, even though my humanely logical side tells me to. But ha, who obeys that side anyway? I've seen results from my actions and put myself in identical scenarios all the time.

This fall I was falling…it was honestly expected. I knew a pisanthrophobic person when I saw them. The person I saw earlier—the person I witness do atrocious crimes—didn't believe my words when I said I'd keep quiet. Maybe because it was just _that_ genuine; my words monotonous and my face expressionless, that bastard of a human being still pushed me plummeting.

I don't even speak Chinese.

Dry, dark brown eyes squint, the wind shouting in my ears. I wanted to see what was underneath me before death came. So I moved.

Wind can never be truly controlled, not as a natural entity. The force and gravity of our Earth made it even more difficult. The smaller, the more concentrated. The stronger, the better.

I could already hear cars and the buzzing life of China.

I bent both of my left limbs and tipped my weight to my right, smoothly flipping over. The sudden pressure really fucking hurt, but I could see the blurring windows behind me, the cars stuck in traffic, and the people crossing the streets. It was happening so fast.

What time was it?

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to tuck and roll. It was somewhat successful.

Then I just heard a loud crack.

But death never came. Not instantly. I just felt unexplainable pain, but honestly it couldn't measure up to birthing a child.

I sucked in a slow, steady breath through my mouth, the metallic sensation of blood overriding my taste and smell.

I slowly blinked. There was a buzzing sound—one that bothered me greatly, made me feel numbly dizzy. My eyes moved slowly. Soon, I could see a woman with dark hair standing over me, a hockey mask covering her face—

The bastard of a human raised her arm and stabbed me in the chest. The pain became overwhelming in that mere moment, and I slipped from the hands of life.

There was an overwhelming amount of emotions, and everything became just a mere darkness.

It stayed dark for a long time.

But it was a comforting darkness. And, eventually, I heard a woman's voice crying, laughing, singing, humming and—well. She was generally a mess.

And then I heard a man's deep, commanding voice. It vibrated the darkness, tickled my body, and my instinctive reaction was to kick.

The darkness returned.

The next time I seemed to have "woken up", there was screaming. I felt my body get pushed and something cold touched my head—but I was indifferent to it. But then a bright color hit my eyelids, and my irritation made me grumble. It came out as an infants whimper, and as I was transferred from one pair of arms to another, I laughed.

What a stupid sound, where the hell did it even come from?

I couldn't stop laughing, because that laugh was absolutely adorable. I couldn't find where it was, though, and while that was frustrating, I just let it slide.

The laugh was too damn adorable.

(And while I laughed, I didn't notice the arms let go of me—and soon enough I was on a hard surface for a really long time).


	2. Screech Your Purpose

**I've been listening to Highscore (by Teminite and Panda Eyes) this entire time. MY EARS ARE RINGING SEND HELP.**

 **BTW: Vague child abuse, extreme nudity and lots of profanity.**

 **…well, I mean the profanity is going to stick because that's who I am and this is a SI-OC story. lol.**

 **Original word count: 4.3k~**

 **Recommended songs: Riptide by Vance Joy and Prayer in C by Lily Wood & The Prick and Robin Schulz.**

* * *

 _Chapter 1: Screech Your Purpose_

* * *

I miss being able to flaunt my gayness.

It's often a random thought that came to me. I was stuck crawling around and babbling nonsense that sounded like English. The people who were raising me, the people I refuse to acknowledge as my parents, looked at me in complete confusion when I screamed a curse word at the top of my lungs in my baby language.

I don't know what the hell is going on with the baby thing. Was I reliving my life? I couldn't think of anything else than that. I recall my confusing, terrifying but exciting death, my life of before and that I…was birthed.

Ten months ago.

It was very fuzzy. But I remember laughing.

I giggled randomly at that. So funny. So fucking funny. The laugh I laughed was too much.

My random giggle broke my concentration and knocked my block tower over.

I felt all amusement shatter. It was replaced with frustration, and I couldn't help but screech a baby screech. " _Putain de merde_!" I screamed in French.

" _Haruto_!"

I jumped at the booming voice of my father, whose name I learned to be Hiro, and turned my head towards him.

He sighed. He snapped something at me, but I couldn't exactly understand. I just made a face and collected my blocks, starting again. I couldn't understand all the words. I just got "don't". That was it.

Hiro had pitch black raven hair that spiked out and grew long, and he had black eyes. His skin was pale, and his eyes were kind of sunken into his skull. He was a very serious individual, I've found, and quite honestly it pissed me off. He was very distant and didn't love openly. I didn't like him very much and he could tell.

Kazue, my mother, was almost the opposite in both appearance and personality. Her hair was a really pretty true red, long and forever flowing in length. Her eyes were a black color and her skin was fairly toned. Personality-wise, she had her serious moments, but she was a very stress-free woman. She openly loved—gave what she could, kept some things for herself, and was an extreme individual. She was very distant, though. She never let certain moments happen.

I could tell.

Distance happens often when something is forced; it's either that or it's used as a defense mechanism after being emotionally traumatized.

I want to say it's force. Their relationship was extremely tense and they walked lIke royalty. They were already forcing things on me, and it pissed me off. I would live my life as I want. Fuck the system.

Kazue suddenly stepped into the room. She said something (about what was going on), and while her face was knitted in a gentle frown, I couldn't hear much concern in her voice. She already knew.

I stood on wobbly legs, swinging my legs and arms. I rushed past Hiro, passing the legs of Kazue, and stepped into the living room of the decent-sized apartment. I could practically taste the boring as I wandered. The smell of meat and the steam of rice was familiar, and honestly that was relieving. It seemed that meals were the only time my family was comfortable in silence.

That was sad. I knew the happy realities of people with families, whether the parents be divorced, gay or together-forever, and this was not that happy reality. I'd make the best of what's in front me, using my amazing Ambivert skills to do so.

"Haruto," Kazue called softly.

I stood next to the coffee table, giggling in glee as I rolled under it. It was so strange…it felt like it was something totally new. I guess it was because my baby body wasn't used to it, but you'd still expect the feeling to be familiar.

I didn't even make it halfway under it, anyway. My roll was awkward—but I was an awkward person in general. I liked it too much to drop it, and if I did I knew I'd feel insecure.

"Oh…" Kazue hummed as she walked into view. "What the…" she spoke some words I didn't understand, "…Haruto?"

Me, being the idiot I am, just giggled.

"…laughs…" Hiro said. "It's stupid."

I didn't feel offended in the least. I laughed at everything. It was a filler for my empty reactions. I was half-assed listening to a story and when it finished, I just giggled and said "oh yeah". That wasn't a very good choice, because a story came from a friend telling me about how she was abused as a child.

I…didn't feel bad. Just…emptiness. That scared me sometimes, but I got used to it.

"Maa, maa…" Kazue chided as she picked me up. "It's fine…laugh…"

Hiro just snorted and sat down at the kitchen table. I was put in a highchair, and soon enough we were eating I think salmon and rice. I couldn't tell. I wasn't into Japan a whole lot. But my siblings were all over anime and Japanese culture in general.

I was interested in Assassin's Creed. I got into Italian and French culture that way (because Ezio). But even though I wasn't necessarily a Japanophile, I eventually learned aikido and judo. I got black belt in both areas…it wasn't easy, but it was manageable.

…Now that I think about it, why couldn't I have used my judo and aikido to fend off that guy?

 _Oh my god_ I feel so _stupid_.

"Aa, Haruto, aaah."

I opened my mouth and ate the rice given to me by Kazue. Hiro almost looked amused when I spat out the salmon. It wasn't salmon. I don't know what the fuck it was but it tasted awful.

Hiro seemed to agree. He snuck the food into his pocket and threw it away passing the trash can after excusing himself.

I was cleaned up and put down for bed.

I mean…I wasn't tired.

But honestly, I couldn't _believe_ my stupidity. I could've gotten out of that situation so fucking easily. How could I have forgotten? Was a distant force from the heavens above doing this to me? If so, why me? As ego-centric as I've come to realize I am, I knew that the universe doesn't evolve around me.

In this case, it might almost be true…but I'm silently praying that it isn't. I'm too lazy, careless and ruthless to accomplish whatever I've been sent to do. I know for a fact that I died. So the "how" and the "why" to "am I here?" is the secondary focus.

Primary focus: Get Kazue and Hiro to square the fuck up. I'm not gonna be raised by shitty parents. Not again.

* * *

I found myself at the gates of…Tanzaku Gai…three years into this new life with my shitty parents (epic fail).

I could tell instantly that it was a tourist town. I could see bulging pockets and cameras on people everywhere. Honestly, it was embarrassing. As a teen (and adult) I would always pick pocket these types of tourists while doing my world trip. I believe I accumulated three thousand dollars, a few thousand yen and…some few hundred Canadian paper bills in between the age of fifteen and twenty. I forgot what Canadian money was called but I don't give a damn. It worked and got me places.

"Here, look there!" Kazue cooed as she pointed at the traditional Japanese castle Tanzaku was famous for.

It was pretty. I gazed at it. I've been to Japan before, seen their traditions, how they worked…I actually lived there for almost a year because I got caught up in a tsunami. The struggle was ridiculous because of the language barrier and just how difficult it was to count money; but I managed.

"The Tanzaku castle looks amazing from here," Kazue said in awe.

Hiro, who was holding my hand, nodded his agreement. "It is. I've seen the insides during a mission before. It's very classy."

"Mission…?" I echoed. "Papa, are you cool?" I didn't know the Japanese word for police or whatever the fuck Hiro was.

The man just chuckled in amusement.

"Papa is a _shinobi_ ," Kazue corrected. "He fights for our village—Konohagakure. Remember?"

I frowned. I've been told that before…but I couldn't find myself to accept it. Konohagakure was Japanese for "Village Hidden by Leaves", according to my younger sister. It was part of the Naruto anime. I've watched it, skipped around, blah blah…but it was fake. It was just a drawing on a notepad transferred to a screen with colors and voices instead of words and bubbles.

Shinobi were also found to exist in between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. Last I checked it was the twenty-first century so unless I'm dreaming, which I know for sure I'm _not_ , I either pissed a witch off or I travelled to another dimension.

Ha! I hit the ground so hard that I travelled to another dimension. Oh boy, inside jokes. Love em.

"Here—let's go check into a motel," Kazue suggested. "Then we can go on-tour."

That made me frown. We were evicted from our apartment not even two weeks ago because these two damned bitchy parents of mine couldn't stop arguing over some clan bullshit. It often escalated to physical and surprisingly fair fights. They were sued for property damage just last week.

We had no money and nowhere to live. We were broke and homeless, so why were we here, in this Tanzaku place, with a large pouch of money and nowhere to return?

I looked at Kazue as we started to walk through the streets. "Mama, why are we here?"

She blinked and looked down at me, smiling in reassurance. But it was a dry smile, the life sucked out by something dark. "We just need to find someone here who can help us get a new home."

I blinked back, my big, round true black eyes staring up into my mother's own black eyes. "I thought Konoha was our home."

Hiro gripped my hand gently. I looked at him. "It was," he said quietly.

Now _that_ sounded even worse. I instantly shrunk into my thinking shell, untouchable as I started creating scenarios that probably didn't exist. If I were in their shoes, what would I do?

…Well, I would sell something. Of course I would—if it gets me back on my feet. We had nothing particularly valuable on us. The money told me otherwise, but that was the only thing we had other than clothes. Money states value.

What was valued?

They didn't have gold. They didn't have antics. We would've had bigger packs if we did. We have skill. They have money. They have me.

…They have me…

Tanzaku Gai was dirty, urban. Buzzed with passing people. Witnesses would be hard to gain and low key criminals could be passed off as tourists. Costumes were everywhere, and further down the street I could see beautiful women doing some sexy Japanese belly dance or whatever the fuck it was.

My eyes narrowed almost dangerously. Now that I think about it, this would be a good place for black markets…

I looked at my parents, who were gazing and pointing things out for me to see. I hadn't even noticed. But I didn't care. They were going to use me.

Nobody uses me without getting burned.

Kazue and Hiro were no excuse.

* * *

The motel was pretty okay compared to what I've seen before on multiple occasions. There was one bed, a small bulky TV on a stand, a mirror and bathroom down an extremely short hall.

I was quick to climb the bed, rolling onto it with spread out arms. The ceiling had a hole in it. Ew. Stick a dick in it and hope whatever lives in it dies, that's what my friend always says for these types of situations.

"Oh, dear…there's a hole in the ceiling," Kazue said. "I don't like that, Hiro…can we do something about it?"

"We're only gonna be here for a night before we move to another motel," Hiro pointed out. "You'll make it."

Kazue didn't look happy, but started unpacking her bag onto the bed anyway. I sat up and saw her pull clothes out. She pulled out crayons and a decently thick coloring book for me. I was quick to grab it and start coloring. That was the one thing that I loved: Art. It carried on to this body, and it made me happy. At least one thing stayed with.

My drawings held multiple memories. Some dark, some light, some requests, most original—and some just from random fandoms like Homestuck. I had no idea what the hell it was but I found myself loving Karkat in all of his laughable rudeness.

"Haruto, we don't have time to color," Kazue said in a stern motherly voice.

I glared at her before returning to coloring.

"Uchiha Haruto, listen to your mother," Hiro snapped.

I huffed. I didn't like that name. I don't know what the hell an _Uchiha_ is, and while I do remember my brother using "massacre" in that same sentence, it didn't click. The way it was said made me feel grim. It was spoken with such high respect. It was obvious. I could tell, even though I've heard mainly Kazue and Hiro use it. So, being the defying little shit I am, I glared at Hiro.

I didn't like whatever they were planning.

" _Haruto_!" Kazue snapped. She yanked the coloring book away, the crayons following. I made a whining sound and reached out for it, but the attempt was futile because she ended up slapping both my hands and head—which was normal now, because she took her anger out on me physically. The woman glared at me dangerously, which made me flinch back and tear up. "Don't you _dare_ glare at your father like that!"

Her eyes were so dangerous. I've seen them before—the eyes of disappointment and fear. I wasn't concerned with the emotions, I was concerned as to why it was pointed at me. I had an insight on the feelings a mother felt, so why was Kazue glaring at me with such strong fear and disappointment?

But then she relaxed with a heavy sigh. "I'm so, so sorry, Haruto…" she said with a gentle, apologetic voice. "Let's take a nap, okay? We've been traveling for a very long time."

That was true. It took a few days of traveling to get here, and the only reason why we were so fast was because we managed to get our hands on some horses. I have no idea how we got horses or why we didn't take a car…I mean, I guess it worked.

But I haven't seen a single car in the three years I've been here, so I doubt cars did exist.

I knew for sure that I wasn't in the seventeenth century.

Kazue tucked me in, kissed my forehead, and closed the blinds. I shut my eyes with a throbbing hand and head, the silence buzzing in my ears before I drifted off into a decently heavy slumber.

I remember briefly waking up and seeing a strange man's face, and then more sleep.

* * *

A putrid smell invaded my nose.

I felt my toddler body gag at the scent, and I jerked awake with the needy feeling of throwing up. I shot up out of the bad, cigarette smoke making the repulse worse. It burned my nose and throat, and I could feel it soak into my lungs. The smell of skunk was absolutely disgusting. I couldn't handle it. There were loud sounds of orgasming, beds creaking—rocking, screams of pleasure and giggles of a drugged woman.

"The baby is awake," a woman's voice cooed.

I felt a cold, lithe hand pat my cheek. I instantly flinched away from the touch, glaring at the woman. Her eye shadow was over the top, her lipstick bright, and her outfit very revealing. I would've looked grim, but honestly, she had really nice _eyes_.

Her actual eyes were pretty, but her _eyes_ were even better.

"Ah, see? She's got the sight of a hawk. Didn't even directly look at my face," the woman said in amusement. She tucked an arm under her large breasts, plumping them up and making my face go red. "What's your name, little one?"

I blinked out of my daze and looked at the woman, struggling to not stare. "H-Haruto…" I stuttered.

"Welcome, Haruto. My name is Yū. Do you know where you are?" the woman inquired.

I frowned. When I looked around—

Fuck.

Well.

There was pictures of porn everywhere. It ranged from male genitals to eating ass—and it was just absolutely disgusting. I cringed, though some of them were nicely taken.

"This is a brothel. Do you know what a brothel is?" Yū inquired.

I knew what it was, but for the sake of acting I just shook my head.

"It's a place for prostitutes," she continued. "Do you know why you're here?" She didn't wait. "Your mom and dad sold you. You're valuable, they say—part of a noble clan. What's your last name?"

"U-Uchiha…" I whispered. I knew it. The money struggle, the extreme tension, bringing me here unreasonably—all of it made sense. I knew that towns made purely for tourism had spots so dark that it can get to a certain level of government concern. Seeking opium, making ecstasy, ingesting heroine, selling humans, creating slaves—forced prostitution, sex, child labor, child soldiers, death, loss…the list goes on, and all of it derives from struggle never attended to or spoken of.

"Uchiha, you say?" Yū murmured. Her dark eyes narrowed. "That's more like trouble than value. Your parents are stupid. You don't look much like an Uchiha."

I frowned at that. If I didn't, then what the hell do I look like?

She held up a mirror she seemed to have pulled out of her ass. I looked into it. My hair was a brilliant red—a red so pretty, that it beat the brilliant shades of tomatoes. I had true black eyes, and my skin was fairly pale. My cheeks were round, though, and I couldn't help but feel alienated.

"You look Uzumaki," Yū said. "But that's even better. Uzumaki are beautiful, but unfortunately they are far too scarce."

I looked at the woman with a glare. I didn't like her. I found her to be annoying, and I only liked her _eyes_.

"Fierce. I like you," she said. A smile pulled at her sinister purple lips. She stood up, boobs bouncing and lips puckering. She leaned forward and plucked me off the bed, getting my face close to her cleavage. I honestly felt kind of uncomfortable. This was illegal, wasn't it?

Wait, no—

"You're a waitress from here on. When you turn fifteen you'll be just like me," Yū cooed. She stoked my red hair and kissed my forehead. Luckily, her lips were painted with liquid lipstick. "Welcome to Judas, Haru-chan."

* * *

The days that passed blurred.

But I've never felt more disgusted in my life. I hated it so much. My faith in humanity was never there in the first place, but if it was presented I would give it a chance. Now it was completely cut off, and there was no chance in hell that I would give faith a second try.

Fuck my lives sideways with a vibrator and mannequin.

I found myself hating waitresses now, along with a profound appreciation for their tolerance. Some of the men were so fucking dumb, always popping out and multiplying like gay rabbits to grope some random nude waitress. It was quite a show. I enjoyed watching it sometimes, but at other times it just got really grim really fast.

I'll admit that I'm a pervert, but sucking on toes in front of every single horny, drunk and high man in this shit hole is too much for me. At one point someone slapped glitter onto a woman's boobs before they were sucked on. It was hilarious…but kinda weird.

"Haru-chan," Yū cooed as she vaped. I looked at her, the oddly almost-sweet, candy-like smell drifting towards me. It was never blown directly in my face and all the smells were filtered out (thank the gods) so I never knew for sure. She smiled, her turquoise lips becoming sexy and lush. I don't know how she does that—it just happens and it's fucking stupid. "Go get some cocaine for this man. Remember where I showed you."

I puffed my cheeks and sighed, hopping off my oversized chair. My shoes had became sandals, my shorts a skirt, and my long-sleeved shirt a spaghetti shoulder shirt. My hair was pinned up and curled to frame my face, lip gloss decorating my baby lips. I hated it. I was never super girly—I'd prefer cargo pants over a dress any day. But I did enjoy makeup.

I walked around the bar counter, stepping into the back room. I reached for the lowest drawer, and I could easily pull out the bag of white powder. I avoided looking at it, quickly rushing out. At some point I heard my name get called, so when I turned my head I felt my body swerve and slam into some guys legs.

Well, shit.

You don't bump into people. It didn't matter how old you were, you'd get some sort of beating and a scar of any kind to accompany it.

I stumbled back and squeezed my eyes shut, feeling real fear rush through me for a brief second. "I'm sorry," I squeaked.

Instead of a punch, slap, insult, kick—or _anything_ , I just got a pat on the head. I instantly opened my eyes and looked up at the man. He had silver hair (um, what), a green flak jacket, indigo pants, zori (I found that out all on my own and I'm proud of it) and a metal-plated headband around his forehead. In the plate, there was a carving—

"It's alright," he said, his grey eyes full of reassurance. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Sure," I mumbled. I slipped out of his reach and quickly made it to Yū's side, handing over the bag of cocaine. The woman was laughing a little—but she cut it off with a puff, and opened the bag. The man she was serving took it eagerly, and was so quick to start eating and snorting it.

I felt a grim expression make my face tense. Yū simply waved me off, and I walked away. As I was looking around the sex dungeon with alcohol and drugs, I couldn't find the silver-haired man.

Strange.

"What's your name, little one?"

I jumped in surprise and turned around. He was standing _right there_. How the fuck did he do that? "Huh?"

"I asked what your name is," he repeated. "You look a little bit too young to be here. Where are your parents?"

I blinked and just shrugged. "I haven't seen them for a really long time," I pointed out.

He seemed kind of surprised towards my response. "Isn't that scary?" he asked. "You're in a strange place with odd, underdressed women. Aren't you afraid?"

I narrowed my eyes. He was nosey. I hate nosey. "Customers make the place strange," I pointed out. "Aren't you a customer?"

Surprise and confusion instantly turned into embarrassment, his face going beat red. I giggled, and he cleared his throat. "N-no, no. I'm just searching for someone," he corrected, but he was still flustered. "S-she's about your age. Matter of fact, she looks like you. Are you Haruto?"

I blinked and narrowed my eyes, my jaw tensing and my eyes zoning in on him suspiciously. I instantly felt very violated. I hated it when people knew my name without my knowledge. "Yeah…" I said slowly.

He crouched down in front of me and pointed at my chest with a smile. "I'm here to help you," he said. "Your mom and dad did some really bad things, and putting you here is one of them."

"You'll have to pay for it," a woman—I could tell it was Yū—pointed out. "Twenty-three hundred thousand ryo."

Damn, that was a lot of money. I was sold for quite a few thousand in American cash.

I always knew I was too much.

The silver-haired man stood up, his head turning towards the woman. She wasn't wearing a shirt, which exposed her gorgeously humongous boobs, and her bottoms were more like strings than anything. She wore ridiculous high heels and her eye makeup was high key on fleek. It could create the eye-fucking scenario.

He smiled at her. "Expensive," he said coolly.

"Naturally. She's a noble clanswoman. She's also a clan hybrid. You can't expect it to be _cheap_ ," she pointed out.

I was itching to flip my hair and take it all as a compliment. I know I'm expensive, thank you very much.

"I've got a five hundred thousand ryo on me right now," he mumbled. "I'm guessing that's more than enough."

Oh my god, what the _fuck_. Is he a government official? Why can't I have all this money? I want it to buy some ice cream for fucking Satan's sake.

Yū smirked, scanning him as she jutted her hip out. "Of course it is, sweetheart," she said, her voice spoken with a silver tongue. "Come with me, yes? Let's go handle it in the back. Haru-chan, come with. I'd like to say my farewell."

I was speechless, so I just stuttered something stupid out awkwardly and nodded my head. I followed the two towards the back—and then I processed what just happened.

I've got a debt to repay.

Oh my fucking god, _nooooooo_.

* * *

 **"Haruto": "soaring sunlight"; "flying distance"**

 **"Kazue": "one favor"**

 **"Hiro": "broad"; "widespread"**

 **"Yū": "hero"; "gentleness"; "lithe"**


	3. Soaring Home

**HybridTrash13: Haha, yeah I cracked myself up writing these chapters. Ahh, yeah…they are terrible parents and they get even worse this chapter. Thanks for your review. :3**

 **DarkDust27: Yup, a total badass in the future! Thanks for your review. :3**

 **Shadow of God: Haruto is going to be pulling a bunch of Itachis. She's, uhh, completely neutral. She's not good, she's not bad. She's in the grey area. The only reason why she would ever get involved with something because it benefits her or interests her because she gets bored easily…haha, thanks for your review. :3**

 **Guest: No reverse harem, it hurts my feminist complex. Thanks for your review. :3**

 **I wanted to post this earlier but that didn't go well…uhh. Yeah.**

 **Original word count: 4.1k~**

 **Recommended songs: Warrior Concerto by The Glitch Mob.**

 **Enjoy! :3**

* * *

 _Chapter 2: Soaring Home_

* * *

Debts are annoying. Fuck debts. Debts can suck on asses and choke on shit. ( _Requescat en pace_ , debts).

The man who saved me was ordered to do so, but the order could've been rejected. The fact that it wasn't rejected made me appreciate his saving more than enough.

The bag of clothes I had were flat and small, and I was holding the gift box Yū had given me. It turns out she got somewhat attached to me—told me she already thought of me as a daughter.

That was nice. She did seem to have a kind side.

She did also tell me to visit again when I was old enough. That was fair, I could live with that. As strange as it was, I took a liking to the events that took place. I wanted to see a certain woman get slapped with a pancake at one point, because that same woman consented to be slapped with sausage and rubbed with syrup in front of all the men. They were all high on ecstasy, though…

You never knew what was inside of that drug. I've seen numerous accidents where people died trying the damned thing. The prints were cute, sometimes inappropriately hilarious, but that shouldn't deceive anyone. Sadly it did.

Sakumo (I learned his name not even a few minutes ago) patted my back gently, beaming a smile in my direction. "It'll be alright," he said.

I just frowned and nodded quietly.

"Did you like Yū? She seemed kind," he continued.

I blinked. "Well…she was different," I said. "She wasn't mean to me at all. The others were."

"And the men?"

"Pigs."

Sakumo laughed. "I like your honesty."

I just smiled, though a bubble of laughter followed.

"How long have you been in there?"

"Um…I don't know," I said thoughtfully. "I never went outside."

Sakumo looked sympathetic, but there was…a sense of mutuality. That confused me. Why was he feeling sympathy? I don't understand. It faded and he put a hand around me, his palm resting on my shoulder. We exited the ghetto—where the high, the drunk, the black market dealers were. The street had been fairly empty, but you could hear rather suspicious sounds coming from alleys.

We entered the fine line of ghetto and gucci. It wasn't much longer till we reached the busiest of the busiest parts of—what, Tanzaku Gai? We were still in this damned place.

I do believe I'll have a neutral dislike to this Tanzaku.

"Do you want me to carry you?" he asked.

I instantly nodded. My feet were already starting to hurt and the sandals were causing blisters. So he hoisted me up, and soon enough he was pushing through the busy crowds. Some people purposely bumped into us, which I glared at irritably. Don't they have respect?

…Ah, but then again I shoved past people in the old day…haha.

"Are we almost there?" I asked eventually.

"Yes. We'll be in a hotel until tomorrow morning. Then we're going home."

I frowned. "Home?" I asked.

"Konoha. That's your home," Sakumo pointed out. He smiled at me again. "You're going _home_ , Haru-chan."

I brightened a little and giggled with happiness—but it was all fake. I never really had a home. Not since I was eight, but I never truly understood the concept of "home".

This could be a second chance, I dunno. That's probably why I was here in the first place.

* * *

The sleep was very nice. It was peaceful, too. I could get a full night of rest without waking up to the sounds of sex.

We hitched a ride with a carriage.

"How long was I away?" I asked curiously.

Sakumo blinked and looked at me. "I believe you were gone for about six weeks."

My eyes flew wide. _Six weeks_?! What the _fuck_! Yeah—sure, six _days_ is okay but _weeks_?! Might as well not shave for a century and store some fat because I basically _hibernated_ in a sex joint for _six weeks_!

"Maa, maa…you'll be fine. Not a whole lot has changed," Sakumo assured me. He patted my head and chuckled.

"Where will I go?" I asked.

Sakumo tipped his head curiously. "Where do you think?"

I gave him a strange look. What the fuck, did he think that I, a three year old, would know? I didn't.

…That was a lie but I had a fairly good idea. I will likely be placed in a foster, adoptive or orphanage center and I was praying it wasn't the latter. Probably was, though, and that made me feel faithless.

"Do you want to live with me? I've got a son just about a year younger, and my wife has always wanted a daughter," he said.

I was internally laughing. Oh, that poor son. A disappointment, eh? But whatever, they probably did the good parental thing and moved on. "Um…"

"I know it's very sudden," he said. "You can think about it for a little while. But your parents can't live with you. As a matter of fact, you won't be able to see them for many years…"

I blinked in surprise. "Why?"

"They sold you for money," he pointed out with a quiet voice. "That's mean and not okay. You'll probably have a choice."

"…Um…what…kind of choice…?" I asked slowly and hesitantly.

Sakumo patted my red head of hair. "You'll see."

I pouted a little, but turned my head away and stared at the ground. I didn't mind not seeing Kazue and Hiro for a few years. They weren't…very good at being parents. They taught me calligraphy and Japanese characters—how to write with both hands, kick with both legs, how to hold a kunai properly, how steady my hands have to be…the list could go on for eternity.

They often pushed me to my mental limits, which says a lot. I have high endurance physically and mentally in both lives, more physical endurance here, so for me to break…it'd have to stretch out for days on end. My sessions were twelve hours long, _daily_ , and by the time I finished, I was way too tired to get my child urges to play fulfilled.

I hated being serious. They were too serious. I liked attention. They never gave me attention. I valued alone time. They never left me alone. I've come around to liking them to a consent.

They acted like they didn't _want me_.

The only reason why I kept letting it slide is because I had this mindset that it'd stop when I enrolled into school. That obviously isn't happening, and I could tell everyone about what they did.

I didn't know what their problem was, but their distances seemed to have been their downfall. They were in jail—probably having not even a small pile of ryo to give up, and therefore they would be put in community service. That's what I've seen happen multiple times. But this isn't my world.

I could tell.

There was a constant buzzing sound in my ears often backed up by consistent ringing and roaring sounds. I was used to this, have been for years. The ringing and roaring I knew for sure was tinnitus. I've had that for ages. But the buzzing sound…I didn't know what it was. It started only a few months ago, when I turned three in January.

I know for sure that tinnitus doesn't involve a persistent buzzing sound. Sometimes it would get so bad. It would become so loud that my head vibrates and I get extremely dizzy. There's an itching sensation in my gut that typically follows—and I know it's my instinct telling me that there's something there.

Me, being an instinctual human being, reached out to that gut feeling. I've been digging at it for months now. I know for sure that it's not just an audio thing—it involves my whole _system_.

It got so bad at sometimes that I vomited. It happens a lot, and at one time or another the vibration in my body got to the point of where there was a growing pain in my head. It went down to my neck, my back, and I had difficulty focusing. It was painful.

And it always happened right before Kazue slapped me.

I didn't understand it. Yet, it made me more curious than scared.

But god _damn_ , I'm only three years old in this stupid body. I shouldn't be experiencing these things if I wanted to be considered normal.

Matter of fact, what even was _normal_? Normal was stupid. Normal can suck my ass.

…Never mind, I take my statement back: I didn't want to be considered normal.

"What are you thinking about?" Sakumo inquired.

I blinked out of it and looked up at the older man. "Is this normal?" I asked.

"The situation you're in?" he questioned. I nodded. But he shook his head as expected. "No. Kids your age aren't normally put in this kind of thing, but it has happened before."

"Really?" I mumbled. He nodded, a smile full of nerves following. I tipped my head a little. "Like when?"

The smile became more strained, and honestly I found genuine amusement towards that expression. Sakumo hummed. "Well…it's complicated. But kids in a problem like yours are taken from their moms and dads in exchange for money by evil and mean men. Sometimes the children are put to work."

I looked down again, my dark eyes somewhat wide and thinking. "What about… _other_ situations?"

"You ask a lot of questions," Sakumo said.

I frowned. "Mama says that a lot," I stated, "and she gets annoyed."

Instantly, the older man looked intrigued. Just like I intended to happen. Toddlers don't have a theory of mind, morals, or really any control in general because they're still growing. If they can talk, they can tell. He narrowed his true grey eyes. "What'd she do?" he asked.

"Um, what do you mean?" (Justin Bieber's song instantly popped up; the damn thing is tricky to forget).

"Well, you ask lots of questions, and your kaa-san gets annoyed by it, right?" When I nodded in confirmation, Sakumo continued. "When she gets annoyed, what does she do to you?"

"She yells at me," I said. I looked at him and frowned. "Sometimes she'd smack my head if I ask why. Or she'll lock me in my room and make me sleep hungry."

"And your dad? What does he do?"

"He yells. It's scary," I murmured, looking down and shrinking back into my seat. I've been yelled at by all kinds of people, police of all nationalities included. I know how to react, and me—being a former babysitter—I can inference how children react to being yelled at. They're often confused ('why?'), scared ('how?'), sad ('what did I do?') and shrink into a shell out of fear. The latter isn't super common, but it's high up there.

"And? What else?"

"Um…they take away my drawing stuff a lot. It makes me sad," I continued. I'm so glad that we were the only people riding the carriage. "It's the only fun thing they give me. Everything else I get is boring, and I hate it."

Sakumo sighed and nodded. "How else did they hurt you?"

I frowned again. I've been smacked various times and places, all done by my stupid mother. There were the few times where I didn't know why. Kazue would just storm into my room and start yelling at me, sometimes smacking my arms or face. Hiro never raised a hand to me, he was more verbal.

"Mama hits me a lot. I don't know why. It's…scary. I don't like it," I explained, my eyes tearing up. "It hurts a lot, too…"

Sakumo instantly looked infuriated. His face was tight and the buzzing suddenly became very intense. I swayed back and fell into my seat, feeling green and disoriented. My vision was swimming and my dizziness made focusing too much to do. The instinct that kept scratching at me was now screaming at me—and finally, finally, I could identify it.

It was an alien emotion.

It was anger.

(And it was coming from _Sakumo_ ).

* * *

I do believe I fell unconscious.

I remember feeling my mind slip into a soothing darkness after I felt the overwhelming buzz crack down on me and destroy my comfort prior.

I woke up in a bed, a brown wooden ceiling overhead. The bed was soft, but not super soft, and the blanket was warm. I sat up and rubbed my eye, looking around. The room was plain, and there was a dojo door parallel across from me and my bed.

Well, I lied a little. The room was _super_ plain. There was a plain rug on the plain floor by my plain bed and a plain night stand with just a plain clock and plain lamp.

Plain.

I felt kind of grim.

I brushed hairs out of my face, ruffling the curls and getting rid of the pins. At the foot of my bed were some new clothes—and I've never felt more happier in my life. I was quick to change. I took the skirt off, replaced it with cargo shorts, and an indigo t-shirt. I could tell it was the attire of a male, but I didn't care. I could dress in a tuxedo and would be fine with it.

I turned my head towards the door. Creeping towards it as silently as I could, I peaked out—

"What are you doing?"

I screamed in surprise, my arm shooting back and lashing out at the stupid idiot who was standing right in front of me. My hand had been balled in a fist, and I could feel it connect with a nose.

"Shit—" I screamed in English, "…fuck! I'm sorry! That was an accident!"

"That _hurt_!" the boy cried, holding his injured nose. "What the heck are you even _saying_?!"

Instantly, I gasped over-dramatically. "Don't say that!" I snapped. "You'll get me in trouble!"

"What— _heck_?!" he shouted back with a squeaky voice. "I say it all the time!"

But I say worse so _ha_. "I don't care!" I screeched.

The boy glared, his two grey eyes narrowing. "You're stupid."

My eyes teared up and my bottom lip jutted out, my eyes brows creasing upwards in faked sadness. I'm surprised I didn't take a drama class in high school. But all that science was worth it, though. "You don't mean that," I whimpered.

His eyes widened when he saw that I was going to cry. His hands waved as he frantically apologized and tried to stop me from crying. "Please, please, _please_ don't cry," he pleaded. "I didn't mean it. I'm super, _super_ sorry."

I sniffled, a whine escaping my throat.

"I said I'm _sorry_!" he cried with a hushed voice. "What do you want, candy? I know a good place where candy is!"

"R-r-really?" I stuttered out.

He nodded, grabbing my wrist and dragging me away. "Here, I'll show you."

I smiled brightly and followed. "'Kay," I agreed. "Oh, by the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Kakashi," he said. "My tou-san said that your name is Haruto."

Again, some sense of violation with a touch of a mental flinch. But I nodded. "Yup! It's Uchiha Haruto. Who's your tou-san?"

"Hatake Sakumo," he said. "And my kaa-san's name is Inuzuka Ren. Who're your parents?"

"Uzumaki Kazue and Uchiha Hiro," I responded. I kept my voice even, and years of practice backed it up. I held no true resentment towards them at this point, they were already paying the price for their actions.

Kakashi stopped walking and looked at me. He had silver hair exactly like Sakumo, true grey eyes and a face mask that covered half of his face from the bridge of his nose down. "Uzumaki?" he echoed, letting go of my wrist and facing me completely.

I nodded. "Yeah…is something wrong?"

"I hear it's a really cool clan that had enough people to make an entire _village_ ," he said. "But they aren't around anymore. That's what I've been told, though."

I blinked in interest. I'll have to research that on my own time, or perhaps ask someone with brilliant knowledge. But if the Uzumaki were that "cool", then that's probably why I was sold for so much. "Really? Why aren't they around anymore?"

"I hear they were killed."

My eyes widened, but it was out of curiosity. "What?! _Why_!"

Kakashi shrugged. "That's what the books say," he said. "Let's hurry to the candy, though."

Oh my god chocolate sounds so fucking _good_ right now. I nodded eagerly and we started running on clumsy legs. His feet were surprisingly silent. So were mine. I was never the stealth type…but I guess the stupid sessions my shitty parents put me through worked.

Eventually, after a few turns, we made it to a living space. It dipped down into a large square middle, chairs surrounding a coffee table. Coffee mug rings repeated itself in one consistent spot—and that spot was where a single couch chair was.

Old pops' chair, I see, ehh.

(I'm not Canadian).

Kakashi guided me into the kitchen. It was decently large, the cabinets filled and high up. I don't remember kitchens being this huge, what the hell. I watched my fellow toddler climb up onto the counter next to the fridge. He motioned me to stand in front of the said fridge, and I did.

He was slowly pushing something over the edge. My arms extended out to catch it—and I was so glad that I did, because he pushed a large bag of random candy into my arms. I almost stumbled under the weight—

" _Hey_! What the hell are you two doing dattebane?!"

I froze and looked at the living room. A red haired girl who looked to be about nine or ten stood there, face round, skin fair, eyes violet and red hair a very pretty shade of tomato red. She had indigo quarter-pants, a green flak jacket and the metal-plated Konoha headband was proudly displayed over her forehead.

Kakashi instantly jumped down. " _Run_!" he shouted.

Run I did.

The buzzing I felt originated from her, and there was a scarily mellow feeling that my instinct told me of—but it had huge amounts of anger and rage underlying it. That…was scary. Even I didn't have that much anger and I've spent decades bottling everything up. It made me feel too wary and scared, and I knew for sure I'd be insensitive towards her as a defense mechanism.

"This way!" Kakashi said as quietly as possible. He turned a corner into an empty room, sliding the dojo door closed as soon as I entered it.

We rushed to the other side, reaching a corner and keeping as quiet as possible. Nothing happened for quite a few seconds. I'm pretty sure a minute passed before we started moving again.

"Where is this?" I asked. We were sitting and invading the bag of candy already. It consisted of chocolate and marshmallow. I don't know where it came from but I was very happy.

"Just an empty room in the compound," Kakashi replied. He pulled down his face mask, showing adorable chubby child cheeks. He had a beauty mark on his chin, and his lips were kind of thin for being Japanese. I stared for a few seconds before eating.

I could tell that he would be hot when he got older.

"Compound?" I inquired.

He nodded. "Yeah, the Hatake clan's compound," he explained. "You know, a traditional manor."

…Oh! Okay…yeah. I knew what he was talking about. I've seen pictures and have even visited some. "I know," I said. "I just don't use compound."

"What do you use, then?"

"Manor."

Kakashi scanned me, his mouth twisting in a way that made him look adorably snobby. His eyes narrowed as he bit in the chocolate he had pinched in between his fingers. "…Compound sounds better…"

I narrowed my black eyes. "Manor is better."

"No it's not," Kakashi objected.

"I will punch you again!"

"No you won't!"

I cracked my knuckles. "Try me, you peevish, _inept_ rabbit-sucker!"

The confusion on his face was so _hilarious_. I instantly broke down laughing, which made his confusion worse. I loved Shakespeare insults. They were amazingly funny, and rarely made sense to most modern day people.

Well. Unless they were educated enough.

"What does that even _mean_?!" he cried.

I just continued to laugh, holding my stomach and doubling over. I had a difficult time breathing because I was laughing so hard. Dear lords, this was too fucking much.

'Rabbit-sucker'.

I laughed harder.

"Stop laughing," he grumbled, crossing his arms in irritation.

"Kakashi! Where are you?! Get back here dattebane!"

We both went quiet, though the sugar I had eaten wasn't doing much to help. I put my hand over my mouth, and Kakashi pulled his face mask back up, hovering over the candy like it was gonna get abducted by aliens.

I just giggled. He glared. I giggled again. He shushed me. I busted into loud laughter.

Then, I realized that this was the first time I've eaten sugar in this life.

Ah, no wonder.

"Aha!" The girl slid the dojo door all the way open. "I found you!"

Kakashi and I screamed and ran around the room, managing to dodge her as we raced out of the empty, random room. I ate the rest of my candy along the run, grabbing more fro, the bag in Kakashi's arms. I was laughing the whole way through, the sugar rush giving me extreme quantities of energy. I felt like I could destroy the world.

"Hey! Get back here!" she shouted.

We just continued running, laughing and screaming in joy of the chase. We hid under furniture and in random rooms—and eventually (I'm not sure how), we ended up outside hiding behind a tree with the bag of candy in between one another. I was too tired to continue running, so I just laid on my back chewing on a bunny-shaped, chocolate covered, marshmallow-filled piece.

"That was funny," I commented.

"I'm tired," Kakashi mumbled. "I wonder when kaa-san and tou-san will be back."

"Where'd they go?" I asked.

He looked thoughtful for a second before responding. "Um…I think to some really important meeting," he said. "Kushina-nee said they'd be back by dinner."

"Who's…Kushina-nee?" I questioned.

"The girl who's been chasing us," he said. "Her name's Kushina, but I call her Kushina-nee 'cause she's around me a lot."

"She's weird."

Kakashi giggled and nodded his agreement. "She is."

We drifted into silence, and started enjoying the sounds of nature. There were bird songs I haven't heard in a really long time, and a strange feeling came to me. It felt somewhat like the void in my soul was being filled, yet there was nothing to fill it with. I narrowed my true black eyes, staring up at the clear, cloudy sky.

Everything kind of became…faded. The sounds I heard didn't feel very real. The grass underneath me felt like an illusion, and the breeze could've just been a breath of air. The sun was just an illusion, and the sky wasn't supposed to be there.

Unmoving, I stared.

Disbelieving, I stared.

"Um…are you dead?"

I blinked and turned my heads toward Kakashi. "What…?'

He frowned. "You looked dead."

I grinned sheepishly, though it wasn't very enthusiastic. "Oh…I was just thinking. I haven't been outside for a long time."

Kakashi blinked in surprise. "Really? How long?"

"I dunno," I replied.

He glared in disbelief, but he didn't press. It was strange for a toddler to not push the subject, but not all toddlers were nosey.

I looked back up to the sky, the sensation of the world being a mere dream fading away. I sucked in a deep, refreshing breath of air. I hated forgetting that I'm physically and emotionally detached, the former meaning sometimes the world feels too dreamy to be true and the latter being the inability to know how profound a bond is—or at least that's what I've found it to mean.

"You gave us a scare, you little trouble-makers," a deep voice said.

Kakashi turned his head and I squeaked in surprise, sitting up frantically with my messy red hair a complete, utter and embarrassing _mess_. I couldn't help but stare when I saw Sakumo crouching in front of us, Kushina behind him and a brunette woman standing not too far behind them, an amused look on her tattooed face.

I blinked. "Um." Honestly, wouldn't this be a convenient place to find us?

"Tou-san, kaa-san!" Kakashi said happily. He pushed the bag of candy away and hugged his father, his mother following suitably.

"I see you're enjoying your time here, Haru-chan," Sakumo said.

I giggled and nodded, a big smile stretching across my face. "Yup!"

"Here, let's go inside. We need to clean you up and have a little talk, okay?"

I just nodded again, and followed everybody in to the manor. I was nervous, though…I didn't like "little talks".

They always ended up horribly for me.

* * *

 **"Requescat en pace": Ezio' saying, "rest in peace"**


	4. Chick Perch

**Shadow of God: Honestly, her history with her parents aren't meant to be dark. Neither are their methods, just harsh. Haruto's** **darkness will settle in later in the story. (And by later I mean in like one or two chapters lmao). But you can expect a helluva lot of death. Thanks for your review. :3**

 **xFarxAwayx: No, don't explode you wouldn't be able to read by more. :((((((**

 **ohh boy, do I have plans for this story. It'll be quite the trip.**

 **Also, are any of you Assassin's Creed fans? Because I've been working on an AC story, and I want to know if I should post it here or…**

 **Recommended songs: Heaven Knows by The Pretty Wreckless.**

 **Original chapter word count: 4.2k~**

 **Enjoy! :3**

* * *

 _Chapter 3: Chick Perch_

* * *

I was offered three choices.

The first was to live with the Uchiha, my "home" clan (ew). The second was to enroll into an orphanage, foster or adoptive center. The third was to live with Sakumo as an adopted child and become Kakashi's older sister.

I chose the latter.

Mainly because I wanted to stay there. I didn't exactly like the Uchiha, and I've lived as a foster child before. It wasn't fun. I couldn't find "home" until I turned eighteen, and even then I still had difficulty finding ties to keep me still.

But I didn't want to have a home. I perceive it as something physical—something to walk into and pay for. I travelled worldwide because of it.

The Uchiha were snobby. Whenever I went to their manor, the buzzing became very irritating. I broke down crying one time because it got to a legit painful level, and I was barely able to move. Kazue took me to the doctors office that same day. She seemed to have known what it was after we left, but when I asked she didn't reply. Hiro wasn't told, either, and that was…a little unnerving.

However, at the Hatake manor, everything was…peaceful. I liked it, and I had free reign in the two days I've stayed.

So I chose it.

I was the oldest child living there. I was born early January; Kakashi was born mid-September. But even then I was a year older.

After moving in, I felt immensely less tense. I never went to bed hungry, and nobody rose a hand to me for little to no reason. Kakashi and I never made any serious trouble, we were just…difficult children.

Kushina was an Uzumaki. I had yet to know my relation to her, but I could tell that we were close.

Kakashi's mother, Ren, was…gentle, but at the same time she was firm and a little bit irrational. I've found that Sakumo was a high-ranking, respected shinobi. Ren was, too. They had to go out for missions a lot of times, and that was where Kushina came into play. She'd babysit us a lot, sometimes staying for weeks.

Before I knew it, I had reached the age of four years old.

Sakumo and Ren gave me, yet again, another choice: Become a shinobi or remain a civilian.

Uchiha were full of shinobi. True, there were the few civilians—but they were kind of difficult to find. The same went for the Uzumaki before they were wiped out about five years ago (I learned from Kushina).

I saw no problem in it. Okay, well, what if I become a ninja? What then? Do I fight for my village? Myself? My family, my friends?

Who do I fight for?

"What's a ninja, exactly?" I questioned out of the blue during dinner.

Sakumo blinked and stared at me. He looked thoughtful for a second before he started explaining. "Well, a ninja…is a warrior, in some sense," he started. "Assassins, helpers, solvers, killers…the list can go on. Their true purpose is up to oneself, but ultimately we fight to protect. We protect what we hold close. However, we always fight for our village. We gain money for our village. We fight to gain reputation and we fight for our civilians and Hokage."

I blinked. That was…much more profound than I expected. "Really?" I asked in genuine awe.

Sakumo smiled proudly. Little three-year-old Kakashi looked like he was struck by lightning, because his jaw was slacking and he looked surprised. "Yes, really," he said. "Why ask? Is this for your choice?"

I nodded. "Yeah…I wasn't sure what a ninja fights for. But if that's the case then I'm definitely becoming one."

Sakumo's smile became wider, and Kakashi agreed.

(…but…still…what was a ninja…?)

* * *

Minimum age for entrance into the academy for ninja's was five.

I patiently waited for my birthday to come around. When it did, I was almost too giddy to sit still.

All of the children were placed in the front of the short stage. In the back was where the teachers stood. Parents were behind us.

I could feel the buzz vibrate my limbs. It made me somewhat sway, but it was barely noticeable.

The buzz, however, became irritably noticeable in both my body and audio system as a man dressed in white robes stepped up to the stage, a triangular hat over his head. He looked relatively young, right around in his thirties, with brown hair and the darkest shade of brown eyes. His skin was fair, and his hands were folded behind his back.

I recognized his face. It was the third ugly ass mug carved into the rock mountain above—the Sandaime Hokage.

I blinked and stared. The buzzing was so _irritating_. I couldn't focus on the speech, so I just copied what the other children were doing and I stared in awe. People started clapping, and instantly, the buzzing became too much. My hands were shaking. I stuffed them in my cargo pants pockets and swallowed dry spit.

The Sandaime eyed me with a serious face, and underneath those eyes, I felt very little. The unreasonable pride I felt (and I knew it wasn't _my_ pride fluttering in my chest) was overwhelmed by expectation—by sympathy, and by suspiciousness.

I drew in a shaky breath, bravely making apathetic eye contact with the man. He blinked and smiled at me (what the _fuck_ ), everything being replaced with admiration before the children cut it off by standing up. I stood up as well, watching curiously as he exited the stage and disappeared from gazes.

Jeez. Was he one those old people who stalked for the fun of it? Or, like, watched from a crystal ball, because he gave me those vibes and I'm fairly creeped out.

"Haruto," Ren called.

I rushed up to the Inuzuka woman and grinned widely, bouncing on the balls of my feel with amusement. "Sandaime-sama is weird!" I announced mirthfully.

Ren and Sakumo both looked a little bit taken aback by the announcement, but the latter just laughed a little. "Really?" he inquired. "What makes him weird?"

"He stared and smiled at me like an old man," I said. "Only weird people do that."

Ren bursted into laughter, the fangs of her clan showing. "Alright, alright," she said. "Let's go inside and meet your sensei, okay?"

Kakashi was staring at me with a frown, but he did look amused. That was probably one of the things that turned me upside down and punched me; he was so young and yet he could show such complex emotions already. This typically wouldn't happen until much later in life, in between childhood and teen years—not unless they were forced to grow up.

I blinked and stared up at my adoptive parents, but nodded and followed them inside the academy.

It was way bigger than it looked.

There were two floors in total. The first floor had all the fighting rings, wooden weapons and hay mannequins decorating the gym floor. Already some of the shinobi were showing civilian families and children taijutsu, shuriken jutsu and the most minor of ninjutsu—like switching out with a log.

I stared at the demonstrations in awe. I'll never get used to seeing it happen. It was so _strange_. It was like blinking away an illusion. One second they were there, the next they weren't. A log was in place, and the only sound was the soft pop of compressed chakra being released.

"Haru-chan, catch up," Ren called.

The buzzing suddenly came back. I felt scratches of fear, excitement and pride bouncing throughout my gut and mind, and I couldn't stop my wide smiles and frowns of fear. Excitement bubbled up and doubt followed.

I found myself not liking it. I don't know what was causing it, and honestly it was very overwhelming. But I buried and ignored it, pushing it to the back of my mind. Eventually, we made it to class A-1, the class with the Uchiha, the Hyūga, and the genius prodigies. I have absolutely no clue as to how I managed to get into such a high-ranking class, but it was happening. I didn't really consider myself a genius…definitely not a prodigy.

I was a genius in my previous life. The expectations were way too high for me to handle, so moving and hiding were my techniques. I always made sure to get average scores with the occasional above-average scores.

"Isn't this the highest class available?" Kakashi asked as he pointed at the sign.

Sakumo nodded. "It is," he replied. He smiled at me. "Sandaime-sama recommended it. Your entrance exam scores were perfect, which is very rare to find."

Oh.

… _Oh_.

…Oh _shit_.

Did I seriously just do that?! What the _fuck_! Am I a _prodigy_ here?! A _genius_?! A _genius prodigy_?!

Ren patted my shoulder in amusement and pride. "Don't worry about it, okay?" she assured me. "You'll make it."

I looked up at her and gave a smile full of nerves. "Sure."

Sakumo slid open the door. We entered, the classroom half full. The buzzing sound in my ear dropped to a low pitch when I saw my Uchiha cousins. Some were staring, and their parent(s) gave me a…pointed look, as if I didn't seem like much in the first place. I probably didn't, I dressed like a male but looked an awful lot like a girly girl. I didn't exactly mind that, but with their stares burning me I felt _offended_.

I just gave a steady stare back as we made way to an empty spot. Some of the clan children were talking and socializing, and some parents saw it fit to speak. I could _feel_ the tension in their fucking _words_.

Like, for everyone's sake, just make-out…and then bend over to fuck but not here!

I snorted in amusement.

"I hear laughing. What's so funny?"

"Your mom," I shot back shamelessly.

"That's not how you treat your uncle, Haru-chan! I'm very hurt."

I giggled and looked at Uchiha Kagami—my favorite Uchiha uncle. With him was Uchiha Mikoto, my aunt, and a kid a few years older than me. The duo were the few family members of the Uchiha that I could actually stand, as miraculous as it is. They aren't as intense and frustrated or stressed like the rest of my family, and quite honestly it's relieving to know that people like that exist.

"Ah, Kagami-kun, Mikoto-chan," Sakumo greeted happily. He grinned, teeth flashing happily. "It's good to see you two. You've both grown a lot since I've last seen you."

Ren was quick to greet them as well, and they all dropped into a conversation that was significantly lighter than everyone else's.

Kakashi tugged on my sleeve. "I don't like your classmates," he whispered.

I nodded my agreement. "Same," I whispered back. "Too snobby."

"They give me sabotage vibes," he continued.

I frowned and looked at him. "Why?"

He just shrugged. Gods, I'll never figure him out when he's like that. I rolled my eyes.

A few minutes went by apparently, but honestly it felt like hours. The teacher stepped in right when I was about to ask what time it was (where the fuck's the clock?) and stood at the desk that was right in front of the chalkboard. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her eyes were hazel…and she looked eerily familiar. Her skin was also fairly tanned and even in tone, and she looked…humble.

To be honest it was weird. A majority of the parents here are all stern and serious, so to see such a light-hearted woman suddenly pop in as our teacher is…um, weird.

She bowed a little. "Welcome to class A-1," she greeted with respect. She smiled. "My name is Kiseki. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

I instantly tucked my head and placed an arm over my neck as I sunk into my seat. I felt my face heat up and I couldn't help but smile sheepishly. Haha, no wonder _Kiseki_ was so familiar. She was the whore who had her syrup-covered boobs sucked on.

I placed my hand over my mouth and tried to force my laughter down. Oh my _god_ that was one of the most memorable moments of my lives as an entire whole. I doubt anyone else would remember, because all the participants and witnesses were high and drunk. That excluded Yū and I, of course. That woman only smoked and vaped.

Sakumo elbowed me gently in warning, and I forced myself out of it. Kiseki was telling us, or the adults, about the curriculum. Some parents actually looked impressed. I was listening as well, and I've found that I knew more than a quarter of it.

What we were learning on paper and in books were about our village foundations, the founders' descendants, the first ninja, the major world clans, the history of wars (civilian and shinobi alike), the most basic of fūinjutsu and—wait…what the hell were _jinchūriki_?

I straightened in interest, my dark eyes narrowing as I leaned forward.

Mikoto instantly stood up. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but might I ask why our cousins and children are learning about jinchūriki? As far as I'm concerned, that is S-classed information," she said with a stern voice.

Kiseki smiled up at her, keeping an even tone and relaxed face. "Unfortunately I don't control the curriculum," she replied. "This is a refined version, and I'm positive that we're teaching the history of jinchūriki's to understand what their roles are exactly."

"We all know their roles," an Uchiha father pointed out with a rough tone.

"We used to learn through our peers and rumors," Kiseki passively retorted. "I believe the Hokage sees that way of education as inadequate and incorrect. He wants the new generation of shinobi to see them differently. Call it an experiment, if you will. Any further questions about that branch of education will have to be brought to the Sandaime himself. If you don't want your child to undergo it, then you can bump them down."

Mikoto looked troubled, but she sighed and sat back down anyway.

I grinned a little at the tense faces of the parents. They just got burned with words in the most passive way and honestly it was _just_ —

I wish I had a camera.

So I just released a breath of amusement.

Fuck em sideways, Kiseki.

"Next year, we will be learning anatomy and things of the like," Kiseki continued. "Physiology and minor medical education will be involved. This will be learned hand in hand with algebra math and taijutsu…"

I blocked out the explanation, looking out the window to the afternoon sky. Birds were flying about, and clouds were drifting with the wind.

"…and Shōsen Jutsu," I heard Kiseki say.

What? What's a…Show-sin Jootsew…?

…Show Sin, Boot Stew?

Oh my god, what the _fuck_ …

"Isn't that a bit _too_ advanced?" Ren questioned.

"It could be considered that," Kiseki said, "but this part of curriculum is optional. It's seen as highly recommended, though, especially with the war raging outside of our walls without an end in sight."

I winced at that. Wars will always bother me. I've found them to be pointless a lot of times…and the most pointless one ever was the twelve year long Pig War fought between the US and Canada.

"Shōsen Jutsu requires a lot of chakra control, as a lot of us know," Kiseki continued, "but I'm sure we all have faith in our students to at least have an understanding of it."

I almost huffed in disappointment, because _faith_ isn't the same as _exceptions_ , and when the word " _faith_ " is pointed towards a genius, a prodigy or a genius prodigy, it's not _genuine_. It'll always say "expectation", and it will always be underlying in the social meaning.

The academy was going to be _intense_. Especially the curriculum, because the reactions of the parents and guardians surrounding me told me everything.

And people asked why I skipped so much…

* * *

" _Fanculo_!" I cursed loudly (in Italian).

A five year old Hatake Kakashi jumped at the pitch of my six year old voice. His kunai-throwing stance was bunched up into a "don't hug me I'm scared" stance. (Not really but still).

He blinked and stared at me. "Um…"

"Shh," I snapped quickly. I grabbed three shuriken and tied them to ninja wire with experienced hands (because I've been doing this shit for three hours a day for _two fucking weeks_ ). I strung the string up into the brass knuckle-like hoops that were separately placed on my fingers.

The training exercise was simple: Use ninja wire to direct three different shuriken into three targets. One was at a forty-five degree angle, another at a ninety degree, and the last being at a sixty degree angle. There was a catch, though, and that was to keep your feet planted.

And since Sakumo was watching, I couldn't cheat.

This was difficult. The targets were hidden by tree branches and leafs, and trust me I've hit them multiple times. But I kept trying to repeat what I did—or at least copy it in an almost identical way.

The trees could be used as a leverage and guide. Wrap the strings around the trees and from there it's just luck.

"Why don't we take a mini break?" Sakumo suggested. "I'm sure some dango would help calm you."

I puffed my cheeks out in a pout. "One more time?" I pleaded.

He mocked contemplation. "I don't know," he said.

"'Kay, well, I'm going again," I stated anyway.

Sakumo raised an eyebrow, but I ignored it. I grabbed the shuriken, studied the curve they would take if the wire hooked around the branches. I blocked out all audio and smells, throwing the shuriken with a lithe swipe of an arm. I kept my wrist firm, and let them go right after it passed my second undeveloped, nonexistent baby boob to curve it with a gentle pull of my hand.

One of the shuriken hit the target with ease. I flicked a finger and yanked the string back a little bit, making sure to keep my feet still and my core composed. I heard a thunk, and another followed—

"Haha! I did it!" I cheered.

Sakumo smiled proudly, and Kakashi just looked indifferent. I was very quick to unhook the strings from the loops around my fingers, pride tingling in my chest and buzzing in my head. It was going to get more difficult as time progressed, but I was a fair amount of months down the academy road.

What Kazue and Hiro were nailing into me wasn't done in vein. I ended up being the top kunoichi in all four subjects we were taught so far over the last seven months—the village foundation, the founders' descendants, the first ninja, and the five world clans (Uzumaki, Senju, Uchiha, Hyūga and Hatake).

Honestly, I was impressed by the Shodai. He, and Uchiha Madara, managed to make the worlds five biggest clans and gather them in one place. The Uzumaki had Uzushio, destroyed around six years ago, but they were strongly tied with Konoha (partially) because of Mito and Hashirama's marriage. Then the Hatake lived in forests with patches of meadow field as tradition, so they were rather easy to ally with.

I also learned that the Hatake used to have wolf summons—and the Uzumaki fox. But the contracts were lost. The Uzumaki's fox contract was theorized to have disappeared during their downfall, and the Hatake's wolf contract was said to have been burned during a major clan massacre.

The story behind that was only known to the Hatake's.

There was also a family tree of all the clans. It probably wasn't super accurate, but it was there. I'd have to look at it later, because I wanted to see who my ancestors were.

"Haru-chan, what do you want?" Sakumo asked.

I blinked, realizing we had already arrived. "The usual," I said.

He nodded, looked at Kakashi, who pointed at me ( _why_ ), and the man ordered three of the same.

The little brat enrolled into the academy. He managed to catch up to me, and he was in my class. I don't know _how_ he did it exactly, but he did steal my textbooks whenever they were free, so I guess that played a part.

I grinned at him, and he stared at me in confusion. "What?" he said with a short tone.

I giggled like an evil little monster with something up my sleeve. He glared. I stuck my tongue out.

"Haru-chan," Sakumo said in warning. He turned around and sat down on the seats of the closest table, sliding the three plates of dango out. One for me, one for Sakumo and one for Kakashi.

"Itadakimasu."

I mumbled the word out (because I found it to be one of those words that was too alien for my tongue) and started eating.

"…Oh, by the way," Sakumo spoke. I looked at him. He was smiling, and suddenly the buzzing became annoying. But it was kind of pitched, and the eerie, intrusive feeling of happiness lingered on my tongue and made my heart speed up. For some reason, that specific feeling was…too much for me to handle. "I have something to tell you both when your mother gets back."

At first, Kazue was on my mind, but then Ren popped up. I've gotten around to addressing them as "kaa-san" and "tou-san", something of which Kakashi looked a little offended by at first. That was laughable. "What is it?" I asked.

"A surprise."

What! What! _Why_?! I hated these kinds of things, because I was terrible at figuring them out! I huffed and ate, staring at the man and hoping that he'd spill it, but it obviously wasn't working—so I just gave up.

Kakashi blinked. "Does it have to do with kaa-san being gone so much?" he questioned.

"It does," he replied. "I'll tell you later."

I glared at the two. Trying to figure both of them out was like trying to stop the Black Death's symptom of swelling the groin with gay rabbits.

It was stupid, and it just _didn't happen_.

"Why the glare?" Sakumo inquired mirthfully.

I bit into my dango and looked between the two. "I don't get it," I said.

He smirked. "That's the whole point," he stared.

I rolled my eyes.

When we finished, about one-fifty ryo was set on the table. The walk home was filled with chatter about classmates at the academy and funny moments I had with Kagami, who often barged in covered in either glue and feathers, tar and feathers, sewer water and toilet paper, or traces of the "devil cat", Tora. He never explained why he was there in the first place, or why he always had feathers or toilet paper stuck to him, but honestly it was a good stress reliever for the class (because _faith_ ).

But that's probably why he did it in the first place. Kagami was a bit of a prodigy as an academy student, so he had reasonably high intelligence. Honestly, it would be a wonder if he didn't notice.

"When will kaa-san be back?" Kakashi asked as they stepped into the Hatake compound.

Sakumo smiled.

Ren suddenly popped in. She had a really cheesy grin. "Here I am!" she said.

"Kaa-san!" Kakashi almost cheered. He practically jumped into her, giving the woman a big hug. I joined the hug, my curiosity bigger than my joy.

(Nervousness chewed at me…but it wasn't mine).

"I have some news for you two," Ren said. She kneeled down in front of us, a hand on each of our shoulders. "You are both older siblings."

I blinked and stared with wide eyes. Kakashi already started ranting with questions, but I wasn't tuned in enough to process the river of words. We _are_ older siblings? We aren't _going to be_ older siblings?

What the fuck did they mean by that, did they adopt another shit?

But regardless, I wasn't ready. I've always felt rather pressured as an older sibling, especially in my darkest moments. Everything I did was being watched by young, ignorant eyes that were growing. I didn't want anyone to be like me. I was a horrible person who's above every law and person in existence.

I looked at Ren and Sakumo, feeling vulnerable and scared but proud and happy.

The thought I was scared of the most popped up.

 _I hope it's dead or dying of disease._

"Haru-chan," Ren said. "What's the matter?"

"Um…I don't get what you mean by we _are_ older siblings," I said.

"He's adopted like you, but he's _your_ actual brother," Sakumo revealed. His hand rested on my shoulder. "He's a year younger than you. The reason why you didn't know is because your mother gave him up to the orphanage. We weren't told about this until recently, and both of us instantly decided to take him in."

My eyes widened. " _Seriously_?!" I cried.

The man grinned. "Yup!"

Ren stood up and disappeared into the living room. A few seconds later, a spiked black head of hair popped out of the doorway. Ren followed the shuffling child (who looked like a twig) with a happy look. "Haruto, Kakashi, meet your new brother," she introduced. "His name is Obito."

* * *

 **"Fanculo": "(Italian for) fuck"**

 **"Itadakimasu": "time to eat"**


	5. Your Prey, My Fear

**For some reason, I can't access the reveiws for any of my stories. So I'm sorry if I didn't catch your review from chapter 3. Anybody else having these problems?**

 **TrashHybrid13: Haha, it's fine. Well, I mean…Sarada kind of asked the question, but she never voiced it and she never went in-depth with it. True. Ha, yeah…I've noticed timeline differences too. Lmao, I'd love to see our characters crossover. It'd be hilarious lmao. Haha, well Haruto really isn't educated in the Narutoverse but yes; she also doesn't understand the criticality of her actions until this chapter. (Unfortunately your review gets cut off in the email) :( thanks for your review. :3**

 **Guest knows best: Ha, yeah…you're almost spot on. It's definitely not ninshi and it's not chakra sensitivity. Thanks for your review! :3**

 **Recommended songs: idk anymore**

 **Original word count: 4.8k~**

 **Enjoy! :3**

* * *

 _Chapter 4: Your Prey, My Fear_

* * *

Everything was grey, the movements of people being left behind in choppy frames. Every human was highlighted in a pale grey-blue. The animals were green, the sky black with scary movements of wisps of clouds that looked more like death. The images were faded, like they were ghosts, and the sounds that were supposed to go along with their activity was drowned out by ominous whispers and phantom screams.

The busy crowd parted, and revealed the dark-haired woman with the hockey mask in full body color, but her image was like looking through the screen of a shaky film.

Just like everyone else.

Blue eyes did shine though, and it was a dangerous kind of shine.

A small child popped out of the crowd, colorful like the woman but his frame was unstable much like hers.

I narrowed my eyes and stared, eyebrows pinching as I studied the world. My hands raised to reveal my palms—

I blanched and stared at them. They were coated in red, bubbling chakra and it _burned so much_. I couldn't scream, though. I gritted my teeth together, trying to move and failing to move and ending up in pain from the attempt of movement.

What the _fuck_ was going on?

I looked back at the two, but they were gone and so was everyone else. I was left in the empty streets, shaking and trying to move and failing to move and hurting to move.

But I coughed.

I coughed something up.

It burned and cut my throat, and a pain that was similar to the one in my hands was starting in my head. Anxiety and fear made me want to vomit and cry and scream because it was so fucking _suffocating_ and while I did cough something up _again_ , I failed to throw up my dinner because the taste was so repulsive but it was _too damn familiar_.

It scared me.

(I swore I heard my name—my first name from my first life—but then the world turned froze and I was staring at a haze of a picture I couldn't identify nor remember).

* * *

The next time my consciousness knew of existence, I came to notice that I was in a hospital.

And that my right hand hurt _so much_. I decided against moving it when I opened my eyes. I heard the beeping of a cardio tracking machine and the sound of an oxygen machine doing its work to provide pure oxygen.

I heard my name again.

I shot up, my eyes wide with a raging curiosity. I ripped the oxygen mask off, jumping out of the hospital bed. I yanked needles out placed by the nurse probably a few minutes ago, and the cardio machine was flat lining because it disconnected so suddenly. I saw that my right hand was covered thickly in gauze, and my temple was throbbing, but I didn't think anything of it. I managed to figure the door out (it fucking slid open, and it took me almost a minute to figure that out, what the actual _fuck_ ), and ran out into the halls.

Figures were _everywhere_. They were grey and silver and blue and green like they were in my dream, highlighted but faded like ghosts in a shaky film leaving behind choppy frames and they were busy doing things I couldn't exactly make out because they kept appearing out of the edges of my line of sight and it was _fucking annoying_!

So I just stopped. I looked around. The hall was…not empty. A few nurses were passing by, patients walking with relatives or friends here and there. But I could still see animals running up and down the way out of the corner of my vision.

Humans were folding laundry, rocks were thrown at women, and blades drove through flesh. Horses galloped and the hands of beasts smashed down upon them. Large tails swung and disrupted the blades driving through flesh, the rocks hitting women and the horses from gracefully running.

At this point, they were just flashes and images.

I kept blinking. It didn't go away after the first hundred or so fucking blinks, so I went along with it.

It was _awesome_. It was like watching a sequence of events obtained from eons of life, but condensed to a few mere seconds. Everything was happening so quickly, yet I was processing it all like my digestive system would with food. I was fascinated by it more than freaked out. I knew a hallucination when it occurred, this was _not_ it. My mind could never dream this out, because it was never _on_ my mind.

Not even my subconscious, because as magnificent as I am I couldn't muster up such details.

"Little miss, are you okay?"

I looked around, the images blocking my line of sight. But I remained indifferent as I looked at the female nurse standing a few feet behind me. "Yeah," I lied smoothly. "…I'm just trying to find the lunchroom…but, um…I got lost."

"You shouldn't be wandering," the woman pointed out disapprovingly.

The buzzing became evident, the alienated and misplaced sense of disappointment and suspicion accompanying it. I scratched my cheek sheepishly. "I wanted to do it myself…" I excused. "I like my individuality. Besides, I'm fine! I managed to get this far without breaking my face." _Please let me go. Just laugh it off and leave please._

The nurse stared in amusement but sighed. "You're going in the right direction," she said. "Just look for the sign, it'll be obvious."

I nodded. "'Kay thanks!" I said. I turned and rushed down the hallway. True to her words, the sign was obvious.

The lunchroom was quiet, and…some parts of it were full of stress, depression and intensity. I avoided those parts, though, as I got the free food. If you were a patient, it was free. Thanks, Kiseki-sensei.

I ate an apple, a breadstick, a muffin and drank some water before getting back to wandering. My stomach was happy and I was bored but curious. Not to mention, my first name was called out by someone. I didn't know who, or why, or how or even _what_ , but I _had_ to find the source.

…

Unless _I_ was the source.

I passed by the "observe an operation" room a few times. By the third time I realized that I was going in circles. So instead of turning left after the green dinosaur print on the wall, I turned right.

I don't know how, but I ended up in the courtyard.

Old people dotted some parts, other children flooded the others, and general injured adults littered the benches. I wandered around the pond, staring at my reflection a few times, walking through the path in my bare feet.

I heard my name get called _a-fucking-gain_.

My head snapped up as I started looking around. The voice repeated in my head, but I still couldn't tell who it was—or even a possible gender revelation, because it was difficult to imitate.

I looked around, cradling my injured hand. No one was even close enough to me to shout my name that loudly. Hell, no one even knew my name. Honestly, it wasn't the foremost thing on my mind. But I couldn't forget it.

I crossed the bridge over the pond, my head turning and scanning my surroundings. Koi fish were swimming about and going for the food the old and young were throwing at them. Nurses were by people in wheelchairs, young men assisting their mothers in such gentle ways, and father's listening to the stories of his children and his grandchildren.

I gave it all a weird look. It was honestly too cliché for me.

I saw doctors and genin shinobi rush into the courtyard, but they kept as calm as possible for the sake of the patients. I frowned at them. It was obvious they were looking for me. I was conspicuous in my hospital shirt, quarter pants and messy red hair. Not to mention the thick ass gauze around my right hand.

So I hid. Their presences made me uneasy. It felt like they were the enemy, but I didn't understand why. It wasn't something schizophrenic. I knew what that was like, this wasn't it. This was a deep gut feeling that made me want to vomit with anxiety and fear (that was my own this time), and I could just smell the potentially horrific things they might do if they caught me.

It took a few minutes and a lot of patience on my behalf, but eventually they left. One or two genin stayed behind for just in case, though.

They were…easy to sneak behind. A lot of people wore the same outfit as me, and they were passing in small crowds of two or three that I could blend into. I was considered small for my age, too, and I could fit in almost perfectly.

I guessed how long it took for them to find me. I was just sitting in between two people on a chair in the lobby, reading a book that was resting on the seat. So many dense shinobi passed by me. I could easily recognize the fact that they were talented, and that they were searching for me, so for them to pass me hundreds of times without noticing that I was _right there_ was hilariously embarrassing.

"What do you think you're _doing_ , young lady?"

Sheepishness blanketed my face before I looked up to Sakumo. The lingering look of anxiety creased his features but he looked extremely relieved. I smiled and closed to book with my one available hand. All I could mange was, "Um."

Sakumo raised an eyebrow. He got me out of the chair, and grabbed my hand. "C'mon, let's get back to your room," he grumbled.

I frowned. The heavy feeling of disappointment coming with the buzzing feeling made me feel small and weak.

I hated feeling small and weak.

So I just looked down and followed him like how a good generic child would.

* * *

"Her awakening was _very_ unpredicted," I heard the doctor say. "The medically induced coma hadn't been lifted yet, as a matter of fact, so she _shouldn't_ have woken up."

I frowned a little as I continued drawing with my brothers. Why would I need to be put under?

"Onee-chan," Obito said.

I blinked a looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Will you be okay?" he asked.

Over the three weeks Obito has lived with us, he's gotten attached to me and Kakashi like a leech. As loud and boisterous as he was, we were his security. He was actually older than Kakashi by months, too, born early February, but he was…quiet when it came to certain things. So I just smiled. "Well clearly I haven't broken my face yet," I pointed out, "so that's a good sign, right?"

Kakashi stared at me like I was stupid and Obito just laughed. I smirked.

"Hey, Haru—come over here," Sakumo said. "The doctor wants to talk to you."

I nodded and stood up, turning away from my two younger brothers. I headed towards the two, and innocently blinked at them.

Sakumo smiled and put his hand on my shoulder with a gentleness that scared me. I knew what it meant, but it wasn't set in stone and I prayed it wouldn't be. "The doctor wants to ask you some questions," he said.

I nodded again and looked at the female doctor. "What is it?" I asked.

She smiled at me kindly as well. "Miss Haruto, did you see…strange things?" she asked. "Like…for example: A dinosaur, or perhaps flashes of things at the edge of your line of sight."

Oh.

"Well, I did see a green dinosaur print on the hallway wall."

I see, now…

"Ah, that's the norm. Now, did you feel extremely scared? Or something of the sorts, at the least."

Things were eerily similar to what my old life was like.

"Well the beeping machine kind of scared me…"

The doctor smiled in amusement and nodded. "What about after that?"

"I was curious. I've never been to a place like this."

 _Unstable_.

"Oh, is that why you hid from us?"

I shook my head. "It was overwhelming," I said. It really wasn't, but honestly I'm starting to dislike this place.

"And scary?"

"Maybe a little."

 _Weird_.

"Did you see weird things?" she asked again. "Like strange unexplainable creatures or people who don't seem to belong."

I shook my head again. I did _not_ hallucinate. There was the _sliver_ of a chance that it was possible, but I didn't believe in that chance. I knew my brain was creative, vivid and complex but at the same time very simple, but it couldn't think up of such large beasts.

They were all so _beautifully_ different. Their origins seemed to have been normal animals but they were clearly mutated. One of them appeared to be a kitsune with nine tails. Its hands were human-like, its ears fennec fox-like and its eyes might've been a blazing red but I couldn't remember it clearly.

"Alright…one more question…" the doctor said. "Did you have a dream while you were sleeping?"

I blinked almost owlishly, but then I shook my head again. "No."

The doctor frowned a little, tipping her head towards Sakumo who just shrugged. She sighed almost in disappointment. That made me mentally withdrawal into myself a little. Disappointment was always something that hurt me severely no matter where it was directed.

I looked down.

The doctor leaned in and started murmuring. "May I talk to you alone, Haru-chan?" she asked kindly.

I looked at her, suddenly seeing flashes of red coat her skin. I blinked it away. "Uh…sure," I responded.

Sakumo called for Kakashi and Obito, who obediently followed him out, and I was left alone with the doctor. She was giving me bad vibes, and it made me cringe because they were so _strong_.

Stronger than fucking John Cena.

(BUH DUH-DUH-DUHH—)

"I know you're lying."

I frowned at the woman. "But I'm not." I was a professional liar. I'm pretty sure I would be able to lie to fucking _Crowley_ , but the chance never came to me. The red kept flickering—on, and off, and on, and when it finally stopped she stayed red. I swallowed nervously. Never have I ever: "Felt this nervous"; I haven't.

The woman glared. She _glared_.

What a fucking bitch, no one glares at _me_ and gets away with it.

So being the stupid idiot I am, I glared back. "I'm not lying," I said again. "If I was, you'd know 'cause my ears get red." Not anymore though.

"How do you know that?"

"'Cause I was told so."

The doctor leaned back and crossed her legs. She scanned me up and down judgmentally. "Uh-huh," she replied in disbelief. "I don't believe that, little demon."

My mouth instantly snapped shut and I fumbled over my thoughts. That was _very_ pedophilic. And I'd know, I've had my fair share of run-in's with paeds. I felt my expression get tense as I grimaced.

But those words did have another meaning. My name, from my first life, meant "demon".

So I just stared, wondering if this damn _bitch_ was the reason why I was seeing all these people highlighted in all of these colors. It _had_ to be initiated by a drug; something had to be injected into me before waking—

I craned my neck and looked at the IV. I sat in the chair Sakumo had been sitting in earlier, staring at the bag of clear liquid. The needle had stayed in my arm. It was still sore, and the pain was something I never really noticed. But you never leave an IV needle in ones arm. You inject the medicine, and then you're done. It doesn't stay that way for long periods of time.

I looked at the doctor and offered a flash of a dangerous smile. "That is not IV," I spoke formally. "It's a drug, no? Because you know more than what you let on, and it's unnerving to me."

She almost blanched, but she kept her composure. "I do know lots more about you, little demon," she said. "I don't believe I introduced myself. My name is Saturn."

I blinked in disbelief and stared. "I'm sorry, but can you say that again? You said your name is Saturn?"

She smiled.

I had to blink multiple times. Her image was suddenly coated in green, mixed with white, and it was a very royal combination of colors. But, as far as I was concerned, Saturn doesn't _exist_. A god of time, generation and liberation (to name a few), and an ancient Roman god. Son of Terra and Caelus and father to Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno and Ceres—and his Greek equivalent was Cronus.

(Yes, I'm very educated in Roman and Greek mythology).

I cringed. "Saturn," I repeated.

"Yes, that's my name. Don't wear it out," she said.

I frowned. "This event is random," I stated.

"Planned," she corrected. "Your happenstance was planned, as was this."

I blinked at her and tipped my head. "What do you mean?"

She folded her hands, her fingers hugging her hands. She sighed. "Porro fabula previs," she whispered, her tongue fluently speaking Latin. "Et delevit omnem substantiam et speciem a solaris procellis est exceptis nobis deos."

My eyes widened dramatically. "Nequicquam eas esse solaris procellae."

Saturn smiled sadly. "We thought this, too," she said sadly. "The _solaris procellae_ hit us as a surprise. It seemed to have spawned out of nowhere. The energy was too great, and it ended in turning our own gravity against us. Everything was crushed within minutes. It was all condensed to the core and turned into what you know, today, as Pluto."

I felt my breath hitch in my throat. To have _that_ much magnetic energy… _putty ducking shat_. It's probably have to have the gravitational power of—of fucking Canis Majoris. _That damn hot circle of fire and gravity was the biggest star known to humanity for a very fucking long time_.

I looked at Saturn in alarm, and I had to give her a begging look to tell me more.

What she was saying, to water it down, is that the planet that Saturn lived on was crushed to the core by a solar storm with such great potential magnetic energy that it was all gone and turned into a mere mini planet within _minutes_. "H-how big was the planet…before…?"

"Probably as big as Jupiter." Saturn smiled nostalgically. "Full of magnificent life…"

I shook my head. " _Okay_ , I don't need to hear your stories," I said with a short tone. "What I need to know is why you're suddenly revealing these things to me."

Saturn rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'll tell you," she said. "You are here because the _solaris procellae_ is coming back. It won't be on a very big scale, but it'll be enhanced by future events. You can stop these events from happening beforehand, and we have found that all of the people you've gotten yourself involved with, and the people that you've tried to fix but never seemed to work out, were fixed because of your words and your actions—perhaps not all of them, though, since some people were too far gone to be saved…but you managed to put them to rest at the very least."

I just nodded slowly, because that was very true and very hidden. Socio-psychopath I may be, one should never suffer for eternity.

"You have a knack for fixing," she continued. "So start fixing." She craned her neck. "Or alter, at the very least. We don't care how you do it, the _Papilio Effectus_ will come into play. It can be full of death for all the changes—just stop the Jūbi from rising again."

" _Again_?"

Saturn huffed and stood up, stepping out of the room quickly. She was obviously talking to Sakumo, and I, too, huffed with irritation.

She wouldn't be answering.

That was disappointing…

But, anyway…

…Saturn.

Fucking _Saturn_ of all people; why _Roman_ gods, too? What the actual shit.

But… _Jūbi_.

What the fuck, how am I going to change " _everything_ "…?

* * *

Time was a complete blur after Saturn revealed itself.

So many times have I seen it (Saturn's preferred pronoun), and so many more have I wanted to talk to it. Its actions confused me; it blended in crowds and changed its sex and general body structure and features. The only reason why I could ever spot it was because of the royal green and white that decorated its skin like the shimmers of an ocean during midday tropical sunlight, and the fact that its hair was _always_ curly.

I've counted the times I've seen Saturn. A total of twenty-five have I visually encountered it…in three years. Never once did we approach each other.

In the meanwhile, I found myself to be…unstable, thanks to the war I was fighting. It was nothing like the street fights I've seen, or the murders I've witnessed, or the stabs of a legal pocket knife, or the holes of a gunshot wound…it was a full-blown _war_ out there.

As in fucking Isis versus The World kind of war.

Everybody has forgotten why the Second War ended and the Third started…and they say it's because of _failed negotiation_. Kiseki had details on it, though, and we were filled in…

The war started just out of _spite_. Out of revenge, hatred for one but never for another…all of this death and these scars on every single level were instigated by the hate fucking Iwagakure no Sato felt for us.

I swear, they're shitbags. Just like Donald Trump.

I was just about done with the war. Three years of fighting out of hate? That was a terrible motivation for me.

So, when I got back from a mission guarding a borderline landmark, beaten and injured, I sought out Saturn.

I found it fairly easy. It was sitting at a coffee shop table, its spiny, long chicken fingers cradling an espresso cup.

I sat down across from Saturn, and smiled bitterly. My split lip cracked, but I disregarded it. I had a bruise on my back and a black eye (curtesy of a taijutsu fight), and my knee was hugged by a brace.

I also changed my shinobi attire. I wore skin-tight quarter pants, and a short waist apron that covered my weapons; four specially-made kunai (Kazue gave them to me as a graduation gift, so strange but so…so touching…), a pouch of pills and medical supplies, and an even larger pouch for wire, paper bombs, kunai and poison-tipped senbon. My turtle neck shirt was sleeveless, and my gloves extended up to my elbows.

My Konoha headband hugged my forehead, and my hair had grown out long enough to spike out (naturally) and cover my right eye and most of the headband's metal plate.

Saturn gave me a smile. It looked more female today, as its curly hair was long and styled feminine-like. Not to mention its decently slim body (mm, good shit). "You seek assistance," it said.

I tipped my hurting head. "Why else would I come to you?" I retorted.

Saturn chuckled and sipped its coffee. "Well, seeing as you seek my aid, I'll ask. What do you need?"

"Where is the shipping route for Iwa's supplies?" I asked, because cut off the supplies cut off the survival.

"They only have three," it answered easily. Its skin shimmered more white now. "But there is one main one that is wide and hidden enough to carry most of their extremely necessary needs. The other two are too narrow and dangerous, and many animals die carrying supplies like writing utensils and paper."

I nodded slowly, stealing a drink of its espresso. Saturn frowned at me, though it didn't reject. "And if I cut off the main one?"

"They will find a new one, but it wouldn't survive during a war," Saturn continued. "They'd be forced into submission." Its amber eyes narrowed. "I'm taking a guess to say that you're going to destroy it."

I nodded again. "I am," I said, keeping my voice down. "This farce is making me pissy. My bad days will be worse th'n this damned war."

"How will you get there?"

"First, tell me the location of the main route."

"Kannabi Bridge."

I frowned at that. It translated into something like "where the gods don't go"…and that's unnerving, to be honest. "I'm assuming you won't go there."

Saturn laughed as it sipped its coffee. "Please, no place on this planet can scare me," it spoke.

I smirked at that, because it was true. "Alrighty," I said. "Do you think anythings gonna happen?"

"I wouldn't know, I'm rarely on the battlefield these days," Saturn said longingly. It shrugged. "Now go make your earth-shattering plan. I wish to enjoy a coffee."

I frowned at it.

"Being my age does that to you," it said. "So shoo."

"Okay, okay…" I rolled my eyes, standing up, and leaving the coffee shop. I looked over my shoulder from the street to see what Saturn was doing, but it wasn't there anymore.

A mere empty space; that was it.

I frowned almost sadly, but chuckled at myself and walked away.

Just like normal, ehh.

(I'm not Canadian).

* * *

When I arrived home, I flopped onto my head with a loud groan. I decorated the room I woke up in, one section for painting, one section for oil pastel, one section for color pencil and sketches in general. It might seem like I'm spoiled, but honestly other then my weapons and my art supplies, I just had bedding and clothing. But even then neither were super high in supply, and most of my clothes were black, indigo or blue. There were the stray colors like red but I honestly don't wear that unless I go out in public.

I rolled over, and stared up at my ceiling with a plain expression. Saturn was helpful for once. I do believe it just popped up out of nowhere at all random times, some of the moments uselessly trying to be useful.

But now the seeing:meeting ratio was 26:2 with Saturn. I know for sure that the meeting ratio wouldn't sky rocket anytime soon; it was _ridiculous_.

I sighed and closed my eyes. I would go to Kannabi as soon as I can. It's borderline Kusa, and I do remember my geographic locations decently well.

I drew in another breath of beautiful air and rolled over onto my side, hugging my pillow and just thinking.

Since the Kannabi was their main route for shipping, I'd have to assume that it's guarded by at least a small squad chūnin and jōnin. It can't be guarded in large quantities. It had to be put under the wraps or else they'd be figured out, and the route would be targeted. It can't exactly be abandoned.

I huffed. This war reminded me a bit of my old life. The "killing out of spite" part, at the very least. A bitter smile stretched at my lips. The missions were something I was so comfortable with; always restless and always worried that we'd be attacked. The thrill of battle was home, and running was the forthcoming of home.

By all means, I'm not _normal_.

I graduated with an Associates degree and went through Honors English, was well-educated on anatomy and physiology, as well as psychology. I ended up going through with a Bachelors degree in both the medical and psychological industry, and I always had a knack for reading people. And according to Saturn, my way of fixing or put people to rest cut _deep_.

Everybody was different, the majority are always going to be similar. Put faith in them and assure them that everything would get better. Couldn't save everyone, and oddly enough I've found that I don't feel that weight.

I found myself sighing heavily. Fuck this. Fuck this _entire_ planet.

I sat up and rushed out of my room, exiting the compound without telling the world where I was going. I needed to take a long ass walk.

And maybe talk to Saturn again, because I needed its help _right now_.

* * *

 **Ahh, yes. Roman, Greek and Japanese mythology now. This chapter is a big bite for the small fish if I have to say so myself. It's not "super big", though; it's more like foreshadowing…**

 **"Porro fabula previs: "Long story short"; "Et delevit omnem substantiam et speciem a solaris procellis est exceptis nobis deos": "a solar storm happened and wiped out every living species made excluding us gods".**

 **"Nequicquam eas esse solaris procellae": "A solar storm on Earth could never be possible"**

 **"Solaris procellae": "solar storm"**

 **"Papilio Effectus": "Butterfly Effect"**

 **Ugh, I wish there was an in-depth footnote system…**


	6. Time

**HybridTrash13: Yeah…but now it's fixed. Yay! Oh, haha sorry. Yeah…it'll be explained later on. Trust me, it will. It involved a lot of foreshadow. That vision she has will be further explored later on. Ahh, I see. Haha yeah. God person comes along, but honestly hopping dimensions and becoming an entirely new person can't happen without a god person. Yeah, war never does change and it's annoying. Oh yah, definitely fast. But after the Kannabi events, things will be much more thorough I promise. Haha, we can sort out the details of the crossover via PM if you really want to. Thanks for your review. :3**

 **Shadow of God: That was an experiment. Oh, did you? I did put the original sentences next to the translation…**

 **MickeyLOLgirl: YASSS!**

 **It may seem quick but the first ten or so years of Haruto's life are skimmed for a very good reason. It's explanation will come in time, and is foreshadowed again during the Hiruzen and Haruto scene. Patience children lol**

 **Recommended songs: Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Lorde.**

 **Original word count: 5.4k~**

 **Enjoy! :3**

* * *

 _Chapter 5: Time_

* * *

My conversation with Saturn had been shweet—short and sweet but kind of annoying…and by short I mean hours of _nothing_ but cat and mouse. Fucking _hours_ , what the actual fuck. But it had eons, give or take a few centuries, to practice the silver tongue. A superior one in a superior species was difficult to deal with; especially when they were immortal motherfuckers with no chill.

But smack in the middle of the conversation, Saturn brought up a _very_ random point that actually stopped me completely.

"I am the god of time," it said.

I frowned at Saturn. "I know," I said. "But—"

"I can control it," Saturn pointed out. "Twist and warp it, at the very least. Have you ever wondered why one stretches out like spaghetti when being sucked into a black hole? That is my power outlet. Whatever goes in, doesn't leave, and that is because _I_ am on the other side."

My jaw clicked shut, and I frowned at it. "Black holes form when stars collapsed in on itself," I pointed out. "Its gravity is so great, that it obliterates itself and becomes nothing _but_ gravity."

Saturn smiled. "The Universe formed through evolution," it pointed out. "I shan't delve into that, but know this: I have lived a second longer than Everything, therefore I know far more than homo sapiens shall ever. Do you wish to know why?" It narrowed its icy blue eyes dangerously. "I hope you don't, little demon."

I swallowed and looked away nervously. I did, but Saturn was giving me a warning. After all, it has lived a second longer than Everything, and a second did a whole lot more then pass.

"Now, listen," Saturn continued. "Black holes are actually very strong. Their power is not provoked though. The last time I have used the power of black holes, time and gravity at full capacity…" Its frown became deep (for a god who has lived billions of years, which was _barely_ even the crease of a brow). "I believe I created a Super Nova that formed six Galaxies worth of planets."

I stared in shock, eyes wide and brows shooting up to the sky. _Six_ fucking _Galaxies_ of planets? That was scary as _fuck_! "Are you _shitting_ me?" I asked, choked up and energized from revelations. Saturn shook its head. "Which Galaxies…?"

"Milky Way, Andromeda, Whirlpool, Hoag's Object, Pinwheel and Black Eye," it listed. "There might be another, but it was a very long time ago. I have enough storage to last a few more million years, but even then…I must cram."

I paled. This was a lot to take in. Saturn, a second _older_ than the _Universe_. Saturn, the _creator_ of _Galaxies_. Saturn. Fucking _Saturn_. Besides—

"You're probably wondering why I can't just _stop_ the Jūbi," Saturn said. It smiled in an almost sad way. "In time, you shall learn. For now, go to the mission assigning booth. The one you seek will not be around much longer if you wait."

I blinked and looked at the god, but it was gone and disappointment was all that remained in Saturn's place.

I huffed, and resumed to eating my dango. I stared up at the darkening sky, though, watching as a hawk circled overhead with the golden eyes of a death god I honestly felt all too familiar with.

* * *

I wasted no time in getting to the missionary station. It was very early in the morning, just border lining six, but the station was open all day, all night, all week. But it was quiet during these hours, and the assignment I hoped to get would be done under the radar.

I stopped, though, dead in my trail to through the halls when I turned around and saw someone standing there.

"Haruto, good. I was just about to send someone to find you."

I should've felt respect, but I felt nothing. The world didn't seem real. What was _real_ , anyway? Definitely not me. There was an author of this world out there. "Hokage-sama," I said. "Why? How come?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked downcast, but it lasted only for a second. His skin wrinkled as he offered me a smile, and yet I heard that irritating buzz and the agitation of practiced emotional pain was rubbing me the wrong way. He didn't seemed to notice, too, and if he did he didn't speak up. His smile disappeared and turned into a dark look, and he stepped towards me. "Come, let's speak in my office," he said solemnly. He beckoned for me to follow, and I did.

When we entered his office a minute or so later, he sat down in his chair—and I in mine—and his downcast look returned. "You remember how your adoptive parents, Sakumo and Ren, were sent on a mission a week ago, right?"

I shifted in my seat uncomfortably, getting a very ominous feeling. "Yes…"

"Their mission failed."

I frowned. "Okay. So? They've failed before."

Hiruzen sighed softly. "Let me repeat myself," he said. "Their mission _failed_ , Haruto."

I had to take a few seconds to sit back and think this through. Sakumo and Ren had been sent on a mission a week ago, give or take a day. It wasn't a surprise mission, that was for sure. It had been planned for _weeks_ , possibly months. They should've said farewell. They should have said their goodbyes. And I remember experiencing feelings a week ago that were connected to saying "goodbye".

So why couldn't I _remember the actual experience_?

 _Goodbye…_

I frowned.

 _"Goodbye, Haruto. I love you."_

I felt like a limp human rock, slumping in my seat a little. My eyes burned with unshed tears as I looked at my Hokage—tongue heavy, throat dry, voice nonexistent…so I just put my hand over my mouth, my elbow resting on the arm of the chair and my red messy hair hanging around my face. I continued to stare straight into Hiruzen's dark grey eyes, the both of us bathing in the deathly silence.

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair as well, breaking the eye contact. "I—"

I just waved my hand dismissively, letting a smile stretch across my face. "I don't want apologies," I said. Hiruzen stared at me, unsure of what to think or do. His mouth twisted in a contemplative way, his thoughts rather evident. "It's fine, Hokage-sama…"

He nodded a little. "I have my doubts," he said.

"I noticed," I grumbled. I sighed and straightened myself up. This hasn't been the first time I've lost people in such a way. I've played some extremely dangerous games in my former life, and a lot of them cost lives. "H-how did it happen…?"

Hiruzen scanned me in silence, looking in my eyes and probably searching for something that wasn't there. "Their mission was to sneak around the front lines of Iwa and target their campsite in Kusa," he said. "Along with the six squads under their command, they were ambushed. In total, there were five deaths and everyone was a causality. They returned just a few hours ago."

I blinked in surprise, wordless, staring down at the floor.

So.

Sakumo and Ren are _dead_.

I closed my dark eyes. Okay. They're _dead_.

They're _dead_.

 _Dead_ …

"May I be dismissed?"

"Of course."

I left the office quickly and quietly, disregarding everything around me. The buzzing was mind numbingly loud and gave me a headache, and the sympathy of a stranger was sent towards me from the distance. That _irritated_ me.

These events wouldn't set me back. The last time a death pushed me to the edge, it killed my relationship partner. The fear of experiencing that pain again would be too much, and I knew that I would fall over the edge if I let it happen.

There was no time to grieve. Not in a war.

I'm going to Kannabi no matter what happens.

But I needed to get my priorities straight with the event. First, I had to break the news to Kakashi and Obito. I planned to remain there for them, but I would grieve. Not actually, I'm a _terrible_ griever (because it's accomplished in such a dark way; I basically go mute, shut myself off from _everything_ and go kamikaze in a dangerously mellow way).

After Kakashi and Obito got a mission as a distraction, I'd slither my way around (maybe). I knew for sure that Hiruzen would think I'm up to something, and would observe…he'd probably send someone after me, too, because people can't legally leave without consent. I planned on getting a solo mission that is in the general northern direction of the border.

"Onee-chan, are you okay?"

I stopped my thoughts and looked ahead of me. I was already in the compound. Damn, time flew. I didn't think I could memorize the route and walk it so subconsciously. Even my zori was kicked off already, what the _shit_. I spotted a short kid, and instantly I registered the fact that it was Obito. My jaw still felt like metal, so I just smiled and nodded.

He frowned at me. "You don't look okay."

I chuckled, walking up to him. I guided him into the main living room, where Kakashi was sharpening his kunai over a cover. The shrieking of the act was very loud, and to top it off with the buzzing and the anxiety, it wasn't very helpful. I glared. "Kakashi," I said (unsurprisingly) sharply. "Quit that so I can tell y'all why I don't look _okay_."

He instantly stopped and looked up at me. With narrowed eyes that gave nothing away, he shot a glance towards Obito. The dark haired, adorable idiot, however, could only shrug. Kakashi looked back at me again, his body language wary and his muscles gaining tension. He didn't say anything, he just pushed everything aside to safety with a frown and wide, worried eyes.

I pushed Obito to the couch and forced Kakashi to sit next to him, my face stoney and serious, because this was a serious matter. I was very disconnected to a lot of things. I couldn't make bonds very well at all, so hearing that Sakumo and Ren are dead didn't effect me in the long run. "Tou-san and kaa-san…" I started, knowing that the news had to broken slowly. "They went on a mission a week ago, remember?" They nodded. "They lead six squads to sneak past Iwa's front lines to bring down an Iwa campsite."

Obito frowned, and Kakashi's eyes widened a little bit more, obviously intrigued and somewhat scared.

I bit my lip to stop the smirk.

How cruel…how very, _very_ cruel I am.

"They're dead."

* * *

I wasted little time as possible in keeping company with my brothers. The pain was barely there in the first place for me; therefore I had to do all the work. It was exhausting. When I lived my first life, I lived it doing nothing. I went to twelve-hour long shifts, but I often needed to get back to work on my own hours. I couldn't maintain love relationships, didn't want to nor did I need to, and I sure as hell didn't want kids.

The daily pressure of work was _exciting_. The results motivated me, made me happy, and even through the blood of the injured and mortally threatened, I held a good head. Dealing with death had been nothing new. It was something that happened often, but it's not like it should be a surprise. I had to be observant, focus on the vitals, watch where I put the needles and make sure that people are put to sleep properly.

It's because of my visual preciseness and observant skills that I could spot certain things in people.

Kakashi wasn't telling me or Obito, but he was crying himself to sleep every night. Obito never bothered to speak up about the nightmares he's been having. They were barely eating, sneaking the food to the trash or Ren's surviving wolf companions. It was easy to tell that they got choked up whenever they roamed the halls of the compound—and sometimes I heard Obito wheezing silently in his room when I check up on him.

The buzzing sound was low in pitch but high in frequency, and I often felt an estranged sense of gloominess, guilt and depression coming from Kakashi one day and Obito the other and both of the most days.

I sighed quietly as I decided to just push the dishes I was washing aside. I " _gently_ " shoved them into the sink, and I swear some glass broke…but I couldn't care less, losing some dishes wasn't even a _remote_ loss. The pitched shatter bothered me though, and it always will (just like cardiorespiratory and cardiovascular tracking devices do with their stupid beeping). I folded my arms across my growing chest of silly boobs, glaring at the sink that I was just barely able to tower over.

"Onee-chan, are you okay?" Obito called as he rushed into the kitchen. Kakashi dragged himself in after his brother.

My eyes narrowed. Everything was turning grey in color, again, and I did my best to snap out of it. Nothing worked, and everything was choppy in frames as I was looking at the sink.

 _…Kushina._

…

…Yes…Kushina. She could watch over them and cheer them up, since I seem to be doing a shit job at it. She always was good at that—liberation of self-blame, at least, and my two idiotic brothers were going through just that.

"Onee-chan," Obito said.

I huffed, the grey sight going away and my visual stability returning. I looked at my brothers and rushed up to them, roughly turning them around with an arm draped around their shoulders. We walked forward. "I'm taking your dumbasses to Kushina's," I said, which was responded with loud protests. "Shut up!" They stopped. "Thank you. She's going to watch you while I'm away on a mission, got it? You two may be shinobi but I don't trust you with the puppy and compound."

"But why _Kushina_ of all people?" Obito grumbled.

I chuckled. "You two obviously need uplifting spirits around you," I pointed out. "I'm not very good at that. I've noticed just how bad you two have been taking it and if it continues, you guys might as well become vengeful hell hounds." They went silent. I smiled at them, and we stopped walking. "Now, go pack your bags for at least a week. I might be gone longer, though, so be at least prepared enough for that."

"Where will you be going?" Kakashi asked.

I grinned and pinched his cheek before pushing him ahead of me to avoid eye contact. "I dunno," I said, "but if I did, I'd tell you. I promise."

Kakashi looked back at me, frowning, but he nodded in spite of his border lined doubt. Obito frowned at me as well, but when I gave him a smile of reassurance, he followed his younger brother further down the hallway.

I sighed quietly when they were well out of earshot, rubbing the stump of a right ring finger I didn't have.

Apparently, something cut it off as it was amputated. I could tell. There was no evidence of the wound, and the night I lost it I couldn't recall a single thing. It happened three years ago, a week or so after I magically woke up from that medically enforced coma.

I felt grim when I thought about that. People always fall in comas after gaining some sort of internal neuro bleeding. I've monitored people who were put under before, and it kinda scared me as a _lovely_ first impression.

With one last intake of breath, I turned around and left the hallway. I packed my own stuff, getting dressed in an appropriate manor for the mission I was taking to Kannabi.

And that included the special knives Kazue gave to me.

* * *

"A mission?"

I nodded.

"A _solo_ mission?"

I nodded again.

Hiruzen sighed, waving his hand to silence the chūnin who obediently did so. "Haruto, why so soon?" he asked. "You don't seek revenge, do you?"

"Doing opium and heroine in one go would be smarter," I shot back, even though it wasn't true and it was extremely fatal to do heroine alone. "But I want to move out of the compound. To do that I need money, which is where the high-paying solo mission comes into play."

"I can't exactly afford to lose you, too, Haruto," Hiruzen pointed out. "If we carry out another high-risk, large-scale attack of a sort within the year, then we won't have enough shinobi—and we all know how _that_ goes in the end."

My mouth twisted in discontent. A shortage of shinobi forces children onto the battlefield. Konoha, along with Kiri, have the highest rating of child ninja, with Suna backing the statistics up, and Kumo being the very last of the majorities. I was a result of a "shortage on shinobi", as were my brothers, my parents, my adoptive parents—hell, _everyone_ in my class was either dead or broken, and most didn't reach their tenth year mark because of it. I was _lucky_.

So I dispelled the displeasure and gave a crooked smile. "I'm still standing where my former classmates aren't," I pointed out. I spread out my arms to show how I was. "Most of which are broken, dead or barely holding on."

Hiruzen scanned me, almost looking doubtful, and the buzzing was very quiet as the look flashed across his face. But then he sighed and pulled a scroll out, handing it over to me. I took it with a proud smile. "The Kusa daimyō is getting irritated and unhappy with the war being fought on his land," he stated. "He wants you to check over the lower to mid eastern border—from the Tenchi and Kannabi bridges—for any disasters or traces of shinobi. Spot any possibilities, and report them both to him and myself."

I nodded dutifully and bowed. "Yes sir," I said robotically. He gave me permissive dismissal, saying that it would be better to leave tonight to avoid being spotted. I was good at hiding in the night, apparently, but absolutely terrible when it came to the daylight hours.

But would that matter in a few days?

…

…probably not…

* * *

My small sack of a pathetic bag was packed. Only one extra shirt was in there, thin and sturdy. The rest of the room had been eaten up by the mass of bombs I borrowed from the Hatake compound. My daggers were within reach, and my kunai and shuriken stuffed in their own bags. I brought along a mask and a hooded cloak to keep my identity as anonymous as possible. A granted exit gave me time to slip them on, and soon enough, I was moving in trained silence.

The bombs were powerful; I could tell that much. Depending on how complex the markings looked and how much white space remained on the paper, the power would and could either match a C4—or a nuclear bomb. The bombs the Hatake made were about as strong as HMX, which has been considered a state-of-art military explosive. I've had my experiences with HMX explosives, though, so it wasn't like it was in the hands of a total novice.

Naturally, the guards had to stop me and check me out. A summons bat was sent into the night sky, and I was granted leave the instant it blended into the darkness. I took to the gloomy path for a few hours, but when the moon was high overhead, and when my feet ached, I branched off into the trees. I made sure to maintain a safe distance from the path, jumping from tree branch to tree branch and walking some.

The traveling was slow, and tiring, and disliked, but dealt with over the span of three days. Boredom makes me do stupid things; stomping through the forest after deer was one of them. I got lost a few times, but I got some venison. And a deer hide, which would make the nights outside in the forest a little less cold. I appreciated that.

(At one point or another, I had stopped and made a Kage Bushin).

I still did respect life, no matter how much I just couldn't understand a lot of things about it. What I've seen has made me appreciate it.

Already I could see the morning dew of a grassy meadow, the greens stretching out like a sea from the forests edge. I climbed a tree and started to parkour from tree branch to tree branch. I stayed light on my feet and slipped my hood and mask on, careful and sharp with my surroundings.

The tree trunks got thicker and larger, the branches suitably following as they getting longer and much more monstrous. But then the forest stopped, thinning out and turning into a bamboo forest. I jumped down and scanned my surroundings, blinking at the sticks. I couldn't see between them; it was too dark, and yet the sky was still bright blue. That kind of made me paranoid, but it was brushed off enough to keep me focused but not enough to soothe my nerves.

The world was terribly silent today. I didn't like it, it was unner—

I practically dove and hid in the bamboos when I felt someone walking in my direction. It was a shinobi, that much I can tell—they were injured and determined to get somewhere. I glared at the ground. I honestly couldn't care less about this discovery.

So I continued.

But I kept my distance from that injured person, agitated by the sheer buzz of determination and the detour. Even though the detour was longer and more troublesome to get through, it showed its convenience.

Iwa shinobi were patrolling.

I could sense their paranoia—taste it, hear it, see it. The buzzing was quiet and the frequency was choppy, and luckily it cut in and out enough to be ignored easily.

Most were small chūnin squads with a sole jōnin leading them. It was difficult to get through; where one man turned his back another was watching and therefore all eyes were on all matter. But there was that one second where they would pass each other, backs towards other backs, and it allowed me to briefly slip through.

I was honestly shocked. I'm not a stealth pro, but—

I looked over my shoulder. The colors became a faded grey version, and the images around me were choppy. Every time I moved my eyes, the frames of movement lagged and made my surroundings look like a chopped-up, shaky film.

But I could _see_.

And, not just see the bamboos—I mean, I could literally _see_ through the cracks of the trees enough to spot patrols many yards away _and_ my damned destination. My eyebrows shot up. I didn't know what it was, but as far as I could tell, it could make me see the unseeable. Where ever it came from was unknown—but it will be known, because as a chūnin strolled past me, I shot out, slit her throat and drug her into the bamboos.

I had _seen_ her before I _sensed_ her.

Answers will be attained. Saturn will point me in the right direction.

"Aiko?"

I looked up—and shot out, stabbed the man in his jugular and yanked him into the trees, blood spraying onto the littered floor before it could touch the path. My eyes became wide. Amazing. That was breathtakingly _amazing_ , and that was a rare feeling to come across for me.

Well, half a squad down…one and half more to go.

I continued to creep through the bamboos, seeing before sensing and subconsciously processing before consciously realizing.

But then the bamboos disappeared, and the large towering skyscraper trees returning with the dignity of Kusa's home country.

The bridge was wide open. No Iwa shinobi were within sight but there were the few ninja hiding in the crevices of rocks, patiently waiting.

Rocks, aye? Well—avalanches weren't uncommon around here. The bridge stabilized its surrounding areas…but just barely, and any major deliberate disturbance would create an imbalance of weight. Rocks will become unstable enough and fall. I climbed a tree and overlooked the scenery keenly. I spotted three jōnin and one chūnin spread out and patrolling just underneath the bridge, and two more squads of the same numbers each taking their own sides of the damn thing.

I dropped back a little and pulled out three HMX-level bomb tags, dropping to the forest floor. I plastered it just in the right spot; it was perfectly placed between two roots, close to the ground and positioned so that the impact of the explosion would blow out the dirt. The other two tags were placed in the same way, and as I backed away—

The rumbling made my heart race. The smoke stung my eyes and poisoned my respiratory system. The flames were minimal, and the tree fell with a mighty loud groan. It hit the edge with a loud _crack_ , shattering the earth and destroying rocks. The stability of the cavern was lost—and rocks started to chip away from the edge.

I grinned evilly in triumph, moving quickly and planting more bombs through the chaos and dangers. Many rocks and tree branches attempted to block my path, but I still had my strange secondary vision activated (or whatever the fuck it was) and could get out of the way before the rubble could land a hit. The supporting beams were wrapped in timed, geographically catastrophic bombs.

I had to stop for a second to admire my work, because god _damn_ there were enough bombs to make fuckin…holy hell, Jesus Christ could probably feel it.

I barely made it to the bamboos. The Iwa ninja were still trying to help one another get free, futilely so, and attempting miserably to stop the avalanches. Who the hell did they think they were? This wasn't the Red Sea, they couldn't just _stop_ it.

They even resorted to that voodoo chakra shit. But the bombs were chakra-sensitive, and everything was going _kaboom_.

Multiple times.

The force threw me and many trees back, even uprooting some of the smaller skyscraper trees. Fire and smoke decorated the skies and the ground, making everything charcoal and rubble.

I actually blacked out for a few minutes. When I woke up, that strange sight was no longer there, but the smoke and fires were and it was spreading devilishly fast.

I scrambled up. The Iwa ninja were all dead, burning and falling into the ravine. The trees were burning and the smoke was choking me. I coughed and backed away, my eyes watering up and making me shed tears. I backed away, with an acknowledged limp treated with arrogance, trying to run and failing to run and wanting to run.

The fire was monstrous. I felt bad for destroying the nature surrounding me…because what a _gorgeous_ bamboo forest.

Too bad the forest was on the brink of being fuel. But I _had_ to do it; I _had_ to look over my shoulder. I saw the flames—the orange, hot flames were creeping up on me and the smoke was still thick. Irritation scratched at me, because _why what the actual fuck what is this what even is fucking happening lordy-loo_.

Salty ass fire.

A tree fell behind me, but since the damn forest was so fucking _crowded_ it created a chain reaction. A line of trees collapsed onto one another, and it wasn't too much later that I had to jump out of the way from one wise ass tree that decided to fall over the path. With a loud grunt, I landed on my uninjured side. I was quick to get back up, and even quicker to start rushing again because friggin heck I _should_ have thought this through.

" _Lo stupido_ ," I grumbled in Italian. I huffed, regretting it instantly curtesy of the smoke, and continued quickly.

I barely made it before another fucking shit stick fell in my path. It was burning like the Devil himself had touched it, and smoke was thick because of it. I looked at my other side—oh, nope, _definitely_ no fire. Nu-huh. _Totally_ clean, the orange was just part of the fucking scenery.

I growled in irritation, going at a diagonal direction, rushing around the burning shit stick and dodging all other fires.

"God, I hate Everything," I snarled to myself breathlessly. "I should've planned an escape _properly_ —"

I shrieked when arms wrapped around my chest from literally nowhere. All the warning I had gotten was a fucking yellow flash and burst of chakra, but I couldn't fight the bastardo off because my stomach dropped, my eyes dilated and my heart skipped a beat. I choked on air from the sheer pressure of whatever the hell had just happened, collapsing on entirely new grounds. I unsheathed one of my daggers and looked up at the guy who just randomly grabbed me and (probably) teleported.

Acid trip gone wrong much.

But then I saw the headband of Konoha, and relaxed. A breath of relief escaped my tight and unhappy throat, which was followed by a cough and sniff, but it wasn't anything alarming.

" _Haruto_?!"

I blinked and looked up to the origin of voice. Uzumaki Kushina was kneeling over a heavily injured Hatake Sakumo (am I dead), her hands glowing green and her light blue eyes wide with shock. The green glow of Shoe-Sin yes Two-tsu (whatever the fuck it was called) snapped with chakra and disappeared abruptly, which made both eld man and youth woman flinch in surprise.

"S-sorry," Kushina quickly said.

I blinked again. "Kushina," I croaked. "…Is this the Pure Land?"

The Uzumaki frowned and stared. "What? _No_ dattebane! We're sheltered right now," she said. "We heard a loud explosion, felt it as well, so Minato went out to see what happened. He saw you and got you."

"But tou-san's supposed to be dead, isn't he?" I pointed out monotonously. "His squad returned and reported that he died along with kaa-san."

Kushina went pale. "R-Ren _did_ die…" she explained quietly. "Killed in action. We…we couldn't retrieve her body…Minato and I ordered our squads to go on ahead—because we wanted to find Sakumo. W-we did, as you can see."

I just blinked a third time and stared. But I did sigh loudly and rubbed my battered face with my dirty hands. "Oh my god…" I grumbled. "Obito and Kakashi are gonna be so happy."

Sakumo suddenly snapped out of whatever pain trance he had been in, looking at me with wide eyes. "Where are they? Where are your brothers?"

"Kushina's house," I replied. "Uhh…I think Mikoto is watching the place, right? She'll be checking up on them regardless."

Kushina nodded and gave me a half-assed glare. But she started up her Super Special Awesome Healing Jin-tsu and went back to patching up Sakumo.

"Haruto…right?"

I looked up at the guy who grabbed me. He had yellow-blonde hair, blue eyes and fairly tanned skin. He wore the standard jōnin shinobi outfit for Konoha, but he had a belt around his waist that held three-pronged kunai. I blinked at him. "Yes, and you're Custard," I replied. He gave me an animated frown that I laughed at. "You're hair is too yellow. Please tell that it's—"

" _Natural_ ," Custard interrupted. "It's natural."

"Alright, Custard, whatever you say."

Custard glared. "Can you tell us what happened?" he asked. "A forest fire just doesn't _happen_ like that."

"Well, I was doing a mission patrol thingy," I explained, feeling too fatigued to care about professionalism. The lack of oxygen made me delirious and the fact that I wasn't getting the oxygen I needed made me worse. "I had to report any Iwa ninja I saw in between the Kannabi and Tenchi bridge. Uhh…didn't work out."

Custard rolled his pretty boy blue eyes. "We noticed."

" _Hey_! Don't interrupt me. That's _rude_. I'm telling you what happened! Now shut up and _listen_ —or do you want to hear _another_ story? Because I have damn _amazing_ stories to tell that involves pancakes and syrup and w—"

"Just continue… _please_ …"

I grinned, but then it went away. "I got bombs for getaway reasons—since, y'know…emergencies," I continued, "and clearly I wasn't paying attention to the bombs I was using. Nor did I mind the quantities. _But_! To justify it, there were at _least_ five complete squads full of chūnin _and_ jōnin. I'm honestly shocked that I'm still standing here…well, not _standing_ but you get the point. But because of all the chaos and desperation I _almost_ pulled a kamikaze move and I _may_ or may not have _completely_ _destroyed_ Kannabi—"

" _What_?!"

* * *

 **These things may seem skimmed, really, but it's being rushed BY someone IN the story. Keep this in mind…?**

 **After the next chapter (trust me) events will be much more thorough. I promise.**


	7. Dubious Grackles

**WHAT'S THIS? An _update_? Wow! I thought I'd never get around to it…  
**

 **Anyways, apologies for the waiting. I kept putting things off and writing this story is one of them. But I've got around to planning the plot in a bit more detail.**

 **On another note, I'm using HybridTrash13's timeline. Their rough plans can be seen on their AO3 under the same user, if you're curious…**

 **Also, I'm happy that ya'll are liking this…I guess? I mean, it's a first for me. I'm not very experienced in the SI-OC area or, really, the adding-another-character area…**

 **Original chapter word count: 7k~**

 **Recommended songs: ? idk.**

 **Enjoj! :3**

* * *

 _Chapter 6: Dubious Grackles_

* * *

" _Dovresti mangia merde e morire_."

Minato looked up at me, his frown very confused and his face almost scrunching as he tried to understand my Italian. He had been skinning a deer for venison and just deer hide in general (along with some bones), and he wouldn't let me _do anything_. It could've been because I broke some ribs, sustained a minor concussion, a large cut and multiple burns but _still_ …

"I'm sorry, what?" he questioned me.

Anybody would say _what_ to that language in this place. I told him to eat shit and die in one swing. Today was not my day, and it was clear. Nor was yesterday. Yesterday was probably one of my grey days though. I destroyed a valuable route for the enemy, according to Satur, and killed many jōnin and chūnin, and learned that Sakumo was alive—but Kushina looked like she was about to destroy _me_.

And so did Sakumo.

I didn't know why (a total lie). It _might_ have been because of my recklessness. Honestly, I probably would have died if Minato hadn't teleported in—or whatever he did—when he did. I mean it's not the first time but I've never gotten close to death. But I've never really been saved by a stranger before…so I guess that's a plus to my list of "new things I've tried in this ridiculous new universe".

"Um…earth to Haruto?"

I blinked and stared at him. "Can I carry the hide?"

Minato seemed to be the only one who was… _semi_ -okay with my actions. I found that to be relieving. I didn't really enjoy it when people jumped my ass for answers.

So…I guess I was feeling a bit more comfortable around him…which was odd. The last time I got comfortable around someone so quickly was…well, at this point, almost twenty years.

Kushina and Sakumo, on the other hand, were _fucking the bees that buzzed in your ear_. Are you okay Haruto; why'd you do it Haruto; what were you thinking Haruto; why'd you take such a dangerous solo mission Haruto; how are your brothers Haruto; are you in pain Haruto; Haruto, please be careful; Haruto, don't strain yourself; Haruto, I swear to the gods above, don't move.

Minato sighed and stood up. "Are you sure you're up to it?"

I glared, crossing my arms. "Never mind, carry it yourself," I growled. What an _onager_ —an ass. With a huff, I spun on my heels. "I will set some traps."

Minato aggravates the fuck outta me now. Fucker. I wasn't sure why ( _lies_ ) I felt so irritated. It _might_ be because of Sakumo and Kushina. I didn't appreciate worry at this level.

I have my reasons and all…I'm rather closed off from everything else and I preferred it to stay that way. Opening up was something I refused to do. No word in the world could change it. It kinda made my last life chaotic.

This one…this one was getting to be okay, despite the tragedies.

"Hold on, Haruto!" Minato called.

I looked over my shoulder to him. "What?"

He sighed and stood up, brushing himself clean. "You…can help," he said. "I just don't want you to hurt yourself."

I rolled my eyes but didn't go against the offer. He handed me three small layers of deer fur, freshly skinned, but he hadn't given me anything else. I followed him back to the cave camp we had been staying in, man-made but sturdy, and well hidden under a big ass tree of the large ass forest a few miles from Kannabi. It was still burning, and the fire wasn't stopping. Nobody was there to contain it; they all died or didn't really have the means to.

"Are we gonna do anything about the fire?" I asked.

Minato frowned. "I…don't actually know," he replied. "It could cover things more smoothly. A random wild fire starts and destroys the Kannabi! It definitely wouldn't give Ōnoki a second chance to start a fourth war. Kannabi has been illegal Iwa territory for the longest of times. To see it burn in a… _natural_ fire would be amazing."

"Wouldn't they have the brains to figure out that there's a point of origin?" I questioned. "Or that the bridge didn't collapse from burnt wood?"

"Iwa forensics are crappy," he pointed out. "In fact, rumor has it that they don't even exist anymore. I do believe that Konoha is the only village who still teaches forensics to her shinobi. You were in that new advanced encore class, right? Didn't they teach you about or of that?"

"It was an optional course taken over the breaks," I explained. "It never really interested me. Forensics…isn't really my style. I'm more of a ranged combating, or maybe a sniper…a possible close-combat specialist. Honestly, I haven't decided on my sole talent…" I shrugged. "I'm mixed. That's what I've been told by the results."

"You should really listen to what you want," Minato stated quickly. His face instantly went red with sheepishness as I looked at him. It sounded almost…instinctive. He actually seemed more surprised by it.

I smiled. "I will," I said. "Tou-san told me the same thing, too."

"Good to hear that. I don't like that part of the new curriculum. The results tell you what to do," he grumbled. "I'm definitely changing that when I become Hokage."

I blinked and looked at him. "Hokage," I repeated flatly.

He nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, it's a bit of a dream," he said. "I've had it for some time."

I snorted. "Just like my brothers," I grumbled.

Minato raised an eyebrow at me.

"They've got the same exact thing in mind," I said. "I woke up one day hearing them screaming at each other over who would become Hokage first. They even went as far as betting their favorite wooden weapons on who would become the Yondaime."

He chuckled. "Who do you think will make it?"

I rolled my eyes. "I made my own bet and said that I'd make it before them," I replied. "It probably won't happen. I'm not interested in it."

"I heard that most kids around your age would kill for the position," Minato said.

"Too much hard work," I pointed out. I shrugged. "Honestly, I've seen doses of it up close and personal. It's not pretty."

Minato smirked. "Naturally," he agreed. "But I'd still go for it."

I just rolled my eyes, because I didn't understand why and where I didn't understand I struggled in engaging the conversation.

"You made the bet, though," he suddenly pointed out. "I'm sure you'll make it. Just not to Yondaime, that title is mine."

I rolled my eyes again. Yeah. Sure. I'll make it. But then what? What makes a Hokage? Is the position just a leadership figure or someone with actual power? If you become Hokage, what does that make you? Being a leader and having chakra and ninja skills can't be it all. Leaders take a stand, scout into Hell and make it out alive—and the skills of a shinobi just make the chances higher, lethal or full of total annihilation.

So, what makes a Hokage? What makes being a Hokage so damn _inspiring_? _Everybody_ wanted the title. Even some of the civilians. Even Sakumo. Hell, even _Kakashi_!

 _Why_ is it so special?

"You okay?" Minato chimed. "You look like you're contemplating life and death."

"Minato," I said. "What does it mean to be Hokage?"

He instantly stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the ground intensely, obviously deep in thought. I stopped as well and stared at his custard colored hair that clashed uniquely with his damn blue eyes.

He frowned and looked up at me. "…I…I'll have to think about that," he replied slowly.

"Okay, but will I get my answer?" I asked.

He just nodded, and we restarted our walk in a thoughtful silence…because, truthfully, being a leader with ninja arts up a sleeve couldn't be all.

* * *

"You two took your time," Kushina commented as both Minato and I slid carefully and awkwardly back into the cave. She crossed her arms. "Haruto—"

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled with an eye roll. "I'm _fine_."

Kushina sighed. "Can I at least check up on your wounds?" she asked. "I want to make sure that you didn't overdo it."

I nodded, handing over the hide to Minato. I walked up to to her, sat down, and let her do her work. The soft buzz of the healing technique sounded in my ears at a consistent rate, while Minato laid the hide out to dry. I honestly didn't think that it had much value; I never really saw animal furs on the market for sale. When I did, they were sold quickly. The same went for claws and bones.

It was intriguing. But it was a question for another time.

"What do you think the Hokage will say?" Kushina asked as she wrapped things up.

"Dunno," I replied. "He could be angry for all I know. His reactions are too mixed to predict." Kinda. Hiruzen would take this with a cool head and when he notices the changes in Iwa's supply system, which he's likely had sharp, but distant eyes, on, basically disappear, he may as well make the connections.

I won't say I know how he'll react; he isn't the type to do it on the spot. But I had an idea.

"He'll be glad that you're alive," Sakumo chimed. "And if your actions change the war any, you might just get a promotion."

I blinked and looked at him. "You think so?"

"I've worked under and around Hokage-sama long enough to know that, with these types of things, he'd take it well."

I smiled a little at that, nodding with appreciation towards Hiruzen despite the fact that he wasn't here. I looked at them all again. "When will we be leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning at the ass crack of dawn," Kushina replied. She sighed and brushed her hands off, finished with her checkup on me. "That fire won't be stopping. I saw smoke clouds overhead when I went to patrol. It's coming our way and fast."

"So why tomorrow?"

"I want you to get one more full night of sleep before we leave dattebane," she explained with a short voice. She gave me a stern look. "And, yes, you're fine but I don't want Sakumo's bank to go dry with medical bills."

I gave a ticked smile and chuckled. "Okay."

"Now get some rest, yeah? I'll make something to eat."

"No, no," Sakumo interjected. "Last time you cooked you almost burned the place down. Minato, you can cook."

Kushina just glared and Minato looked a little bit flustered. I just chuckled and sat down, watching the scene as a red-faced Minato worked under the glare of an irritated Kushina.

* * *

The morning coolness was soothing. But it made my ribs ache.

Since my leg had been injured I couldn't exactly join everyone on the expedition of tree-hopping back. That was fine. It was fun and unique as a whole, but it required work—especially when the shinobi do it. It could be a chakra thing or a biological thing, but they can jump _really fuckin' high_. From the ground to the roof or the grass to the trees; didn't really matter, they just couldn't go any further than fifteen to forty meters—depending on the skill level, that is.

Minato allowed me to ride on his back the whole way, and Sakumo was on his own—with assistance, of course. We had to take many short mini breaks for medical checkups and just for the sake of resting. It slowed us down ridiculously though. Every time we woke up at the ass crack of dawn the smell of burning wood would be alarmingly strong. I noticed that many animals with scorched fur or actual burns were retreating in their same direction, and at one point when I looked up I saw a large cloud of smoke.

But that was put behind us the instant we finished going through the field. A road was found, one fresh with the marks of a carriage and people who decided to take to their feet. It wasn't really taken into account by the others; but one of the prints were bare. Not very suspicious. Hardly suspicious at all, actually. A lot of the poor villagers didn't have shoes, and their struggle wasn't really paid attention to. They held no significance in a lot of shinobi lives.

"Can we stop in a little bit?" Sakumo suddenly asked. He let go of a breath of much needed relief. "I…I'm feeling tired."

Kushina drew herself close to him, nodding in concern. I just glanced at my adoptive father of this world before looking back to the freshly printed set of the barren feet.

"What do you see?" Minato asked, turning his face towards me a little. I was still riding on his back, my arms limply hanging around his neck, my head above his.

I just spared a glance before turning my eyes back to the trail. "Foot prints," I replied. "Fresh ones, too. If we keep going at this pace we'll see them."

"Sharp eye you got there," he commented.

I scoffed but smirked. "I see what you did there," I grumbled mirthfully.

"To be honest, I've always wanted to say that to an Uchiha."

"Oh, well then I guess wishes _do_ come true! Who'd you give the succ to?"

"The…the _what_?"

I just laughed breathlessly, but stopped with a grunt because ow, my ribs.

"I told you not to laugh dattebane," Kushina chided.

I gave a pout. "Of course, _mother_."

"Here—let's stop here," the older red head said. She stepped off to the side, allowing Sakumo to sit on a rock. I got off of Minato's back, stretching myself out a little. I looked at Sakumo, who sounded relieved for every breath that he released.

I almost frowned at that, but honestly, he was almost forty years old and injured pretty badly. Not to mention the fact that he was walking. But I wasn't. And I knew that I needed to move and walk around some. "Can I go ahead a little bit?" I asked. "I've got some energy stored in me."

Sakumo looked to Kushina, who looked at Sakumo but when eye contact was made she sighed. Her pale blue eyes looked at me, scanning and judging. "I-I guess it's fine…but Minato should go with you. We can't be too split up 'ttebane."

"Yessir," I said almost dutifully, but it was more in a "respectful mockery" way. "Okay, let's get goin' custard boy! I wanna see where those footprints go."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, of course you do."

I just grinned, and we started walking in the same direction as the foot prints. It was skidding in, and out, since the dirt wasn't totally cooperative, but it was still trackable. They didn't last very long, either. As a matter of fact, the prints lasted for another minute or so of walking before the origin was found.

It was a young man, dressed in a belted tunic and ragged quarter pants, collapsed face first on the cold, mildly muddy dirt road. His pretty blue eyes were still open, but they were clouded over and looking at nothing. His hair was, also, the exact same custard yellow as Minato's, his skin was fair, he was battered up pretty badly and his cheeks each had three bloody slices to resemble animal whiskers.

"He looks like you," I commented casually.

"I don't have any family if that's what you're wondering," he deadpanned. He sighed, crouching next to the man to feel for a pulse. But then his face became sad and twisted. "He's dead."

"Can…can you flip him over? I don't really like how he died. It just feels dishonorable. Y'know what I mean?"

Minato gave a small nod and flipped his fuckin' doppelgänger over. His front side was slashed and bloody, and he looked like he had been…tortured.

Odd. I didn't spot a single drop of blood on his trail.

The living custard cringed. "He took a beating."

I nodded grimly. Probably because he was a beggar, or for owing money if he went bankrupt. I looked at Minato. "I didn't see any blood, though."

"On his trail?"

"Yeah. Now there's a mutilated murder victim covered in slashes and bleeding out." I crossed my arms, careful with my ribs. "Do you have oNe of those corpse scroll things with you? I really don't want to leave him… _here_."

He gave me a certain look. "It's a bit risky, Haruto. I'm not sure if it's okay."

"Well you're planning on becoming Hokage, aren't you?" I looked back at him straight in his eyes when he nodded slowly. "Then everyday will be a risk you stupid moron. One more can test you, can't it? Besides, I'd feel too guilty to just…leave him here. You never know what can happen out here in these wilds."

"Haruto—"

"Let's at least honor him. _Please_? It may be risky but risks are tests and if you aren't willing to take it you won't be able to evaluate your worth." I snorted. "Get 'er goin', _Hokage-sama_."

His jaw clicked shut. He still didn't look totally convinced, but the instant he looked away and shuffled on his feet in his crouched position I knew he was swayed just enough to do it. "Okay, okay… _fine_." He sighed heavily and loudly, pulling out a scroll and spreading it out next to the body. He performed those neat little hand seals for jutsu, and in a glowing flash, they body was sealed into the black hole of the fūinjutsu sign. "There, it's finished. You feel any better?"

I smiled, letting go of my tension as he rolled it up and handed it to me. "Thank you…" I mumbled absently.

He pushed himself up and brushed his legs free of any dirt. "Yeah. No problem."

"I never really thought of you as the persuaded type," I commented as we made our way back towards the other two waiting for us in a slow, steady walk. "You come across as headstrong. Was that a favor, or something?"

His face got a little red. "W-well—I-I kinda bought it when you said we could honor him…" he murmured sheepishly. "I-I mean—well. I…I've left some dead teammates behind. W-we've worked closely together for quite some time so it was…difficult—to…to do it. I felt like I disrespected them." He shrugged. "I don't know if you can relate or anything…"

"No. Well—no. But some of the missions I've taken made me feel disrespectful," I stated. "Sabotage and under-handed things aren't really my style. I don't hide things at all."

"I'm sure you've lied before."

"Yeah but not in general."

"What about your team mates? Are they…still, uhm, alive?"

I shook my head. "No. Almost everybody died before we could even take up our first field mission. A few D-ranks was all the time we spent together. Our first C-rank mission totally annihilated my team. Escorts can go so wrong so fast, y'know?"

He face became tight. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"It's not like I made much of a bond with them," I grumbled. "My sensei fell into a comatose state. He's…he's probably not gonna make it. He's getting to be an old man. About as old as Sandaime. I think."

"I think I'll visit him," Minato stated as Kushina and Sakumo came into view. "Who is it?"

"His name's Uchiha Kagami."

"Kagami?"

"Yeah. You know—an Uchiha. _Rare_ to see those."

"Oh…no, it's just that he was Danzō's team mate. I haven't heard anything from Kagami-san for a solid decade."

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at Minato. "…You are stalking him. God, you're such a creep you squirt of mustard."

Kushina burst in laughter the instant my sentence was finished, making her hold herself to prevent her body from falling over. Sakumo was chuckling, and his face just got so red that I joined in on the cheerful mirth. But I didn't laugh as hard as Sakumo or Kushina, I kept it within the circle of giggles and chuckles to prevent myself from hurting.

"Ahh, Minato you got burned dattebane!" Kushina cried out in laughter. "By a ten year old, too!"

His face got hotter with embarrassment, obviously flustered and trying to defend himself. But nobody was convinced and in the end, he gave up.

I grinned at him evilly when he gave me a playfully light-hearted glare once the fits of laughter ended.

"Alright, let's get going," Sakumo spoke. "We can't stay here forever. Konoha is still a long ways away."

I nodded, and Minato allowed me to climb onto his back for a ride again.

"Oh, what's in the scroll?" Kushina chimed when she spotted it in my hand.

"The footprints we followed ended with a corpse," I replied. "He died probably a half an hour ago, or within that time frame. I couldn't just leave him there."

Sakumo ruffled my messily spiked head of red hair and smiled proudly. "That's my girl," he praised. I smiled at him, glad to impress, and happy to know that it was done with approval because it made me feel a bit more…human, I guess, because behind a lot of my words was an underlying meaning or an ugly truth.

Honoring the dead…well, to be honest, that had to be the only send of justice and honor left in me. I've honored my dead enemies and family, along with any friends that died from sicknesses or guns…becuase it didn't feel right otherwise.

I sighed and buried my face in Minato's shoulder. "I'm so tired…" I grumbled.

"You can sleep," Minato said. "You need your rest."

"Uh-huh," I hummed. The scroll was taken from me, but I didn't really care. I really did feel tired, and I knew I was gonna be bored the rest of the way.

So I fell asleep, and dreamt up nothing but a comforting darkness that cradled my consciousness.

* * *

"You're back."

I looked at the gate guards and smiled. "Yeah."

She smiled at me. "Good to see you again. I was honestly kind of worried…and so were some others. Your brothers are included. Obito-chan came out a few times asking if you were back."

I smiled back. "Sounds like something he would do," I said.

The brunette then looked at Sakumo. Her eyes widened a little. "Literally everybody knows you're dead," she stated. "A funeral was meant to take place the instant Haruto returned."

He gave a strained smile, pained and tired and feeling it. "It's understandable. The camp was burning, and I was in the middle of it all. I would've thought myself dead as well, but Lady Luck is feeling generous it seems," he replied. "May we gain entrance? My injuries haven't fully healed and I would like to see everyone again."

She snapped out of her surprise and nodded dutifully. She signed all of us in confidentially, and with certification, we entered the village. I started walking again on my own, albeit with a heavy limp but that was fine. Minato seemed relieved at the very least. Some people were staring at Sakumo, all in shock, or awe, or…disdain…what the fuck?

I heard whispers and gossip-sounding murmurs and the instant it started so did that annoying buzzing. The hum of emotion made it difficult to suppress restlessness. I got twitchy very fast and there was that stupid sense of a _feeling_ I was getting. It was very strong, very mixed, and it choked me up and made me fee…small, weak.

"Haruto, are you okay?" Minato asked quietly. We were kind of hanging back, out of ear shot from a casual chat being shared between my adoptive father and my friendly neighborhood babysitter.

I nodded, but I didn't say anything back immediately. "…Yeah…I guess. Everybody's staring, though, and it's giving me really…bad…vibes."

"At your father, you mean."

"Yeah. It's logical to stare, I mean his…death was almost notorious to us all, but they're staring in a way that makes it seem like they're disappointed," I pointed out. I narrowed my eyes. "They…hate him. Do you know anything about this, yellow boy?"

"No…"

I glared at him. "You're a terrible liar."

"What? I'm not lying! I swear, I don't know anything. You should really ask him yourself."

I snorted. "Yeah. As if he'll say anything. He'll tell a half-assed truth and lay me off for months."

"It…could be to protect you."

"I don't need protecting."

"You should accept it, at the very least."

"Yeah but I'm not okay with the lying."

Minato sighed shortly, scratching his head with a scrunched frown. "You sure do have a lot of… _that_ in you," he said.

"All arguments happen to make the rival accept it by shoving it down their throat," I pointed out absently. I spotted a man sneering as he glanced over his shoulder to Sakumo behind his back. "Rolling over and accepting the facts makes it seem too easy. Aggravates people to no end. It's actually kind of provocative."

"You certainly know what you're doing."

"I don't actually. I just do…like, a lot. I've found that I'm a bit of an evil, manipulative overlord with a manipulative god complex," I explained dramatically. He raised an eyebrow at me and I grinned. "I'm joking."

"Uh-huh." He chuckled. "So, where to?"

"Where to what?"

"To the hospital, your brothers, or the Hokage?"

"Brothers, hospital, and then Hokage." I looked at him. "Why ask?"

"Kushina wants me to accompany you. So does Sakumo. They seem…worried, and I'm doubting it's because of your injuries. You've stated and proven more than a few times that you were fine," Minato explained. He frowned ahead at them. "What did you do?"

"Well I did blow up a bridge and destroy a lot of forestry," I pointed out in a whisper loud enough to overcome the busy marketing district. "And I'm doing fine."

"That's true. It's not weighing you down, though, is it?"

"No, not really. Honestly, it's just a bridge. There's a whole lot more out there, y'know," I said. "Hey, tou-san."

He looked at me. "Yes?"

"Is it okay if I go to Kushina's to see Kakashi and Obito?"

"Of course. I'll be reporting to Hokage-sama."

"'Kay, I'll see you later," I said. I waved my farewell to him, and both Custard and I took a turn into a sub-street towards Kushina's home. But I could feel his eyes linger on me. I sighed and scoffed a little.

"He's your father, let him worry about your psychology," Minato chided gently.

"Yes, he is, but I do enjoy my bubble. And it's one _big_ bubble," I shot back. "Worrying violates that bubble."

"Why?" His head ripped a little and his face brightened with curiosity.

I gave him a glare, but the curiosity was still there and the buzzing was back. I clicked my tongue and crossed my arms. "I don't like it," I replied. "It's too…squishy."

"Squishy?" Minato echoed in amusement. He laughed and patted my head. "That's an odd way to explain it."

"What? I can't find any other way to word it!" I rolled my eyes. "I mean, I get worrying, it just doesn't sit well with me." Because why would anyone want to worry about someone like me?

"That's a new thing," Custard stated. "I don't think I've ever heard anyone, especially someone within your age range, say that worrying about some loved one doesn't sit well with them."

I huffed, keeping the intake small and the sharpness evident. "You learn something new everyday, yeah?" I shot back. I looked at Minato. "Hey, how'd you meet Kushina?"

"W-what? Where did that come from…?"

"I'm just curious. You two looked like you were _really_ good friends," I said with a hint of a tease.

"Well…yeah, we are. We aren't dating, though," he stated. "I'm not looking for a relationship. Not right now at least."

"So…you're thinking about it."

"No! No, no…" He shook his head, face red and body language flustered. "B-but she is nice, and I do think she's fallen or falling for me…"

"Lucky you. She really is a great person," I said.

"Yeah, but…" He sighed. "The feeling doesn't feel…mutual. It just doesn't feel right."

"Oh…" I sighed and nodded my understanding. "Instinctual, are you?"

"I guess…there's been this voice in my head, telling me that she isn't the right one for me."

"Ha, yeah. That sounds like a trip," I said. But then I frowned. "It sounds difficult."

Minato nodded grimly. "She's too great for a broken heart."

"Well, I mean…you could try distancing yourself from that kind of relationship," I advised. "I've picked up some things from some old friends, too, so…if you need help I'm all ears and advice."

"Haruto you're ten."

"And livin' the dream!"

Minato smirked and rolled his eyes. "I'm sixteen, it would hurt my feelings."

I rolled my eyes back. "You men and your stupid egos…"

"Indeed."

"Oh, look, there's that turn that gets us closer to Kushina's house," I said right as I turned down an alleyway, stepping in front of him and making him trip over himself a little.

" _Really_?" He straightened up and glared, though he was smiling.

I grinned evilly, laughing a little as I continued walking. "Come on, you narcissi."

He just huffed and followed, which busted another huff of laughter from me, and the rest of the way was filled with idle chat I haven't had in a long time.

* * *

The house was dark and empty when we arrived, and there was a note on the door. I flipped it open, and sighed. "They're going to the gate."

Minato chuckled.

"Think we should stay and wait?"

He nodded and sat down in the doorstep. "Yeah. You also need to sit down and rest."

I just blinked and sat down next to him, ignoring the incoming headache as I settled down. I slouched and put my arms on my knees, settling my chin down with a tired sigh.

"Um…how are you doing?" Minato suddenly asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well…I-I mean, your mother died…and for a while there everybody, including Kushina and myself, thought Sakumo was dead too. That's gotta be a big face slapper," he pointed out almost timidly.

"…I think just one of those silent grievers," I said. "You know, take it all in and move on dry-eyed."

He remained quiet.

"But it did feel like a long-term disaster crashing down on us all," I went on. "I honestly didn't know what to do, or…how to do it. So I guess I'm kinda compromising myself."

Minato rubbed my back, gentle with my injuries and clear with the intent of comfort. "You've made it this far, though," he pointed out. "Has it happened before? With your team, I mean."

"Probably."

"Probably?"

"I don't really recall," I grumbled. That was a total lie, though. I remembered it clearly. I hadn't been around them enough to actually care, so when they died…well, it was easy to admit that a small piece of me died a little because my teammates died too young but their significance was irrelevant to me.

"You probably blocked it, then," Minato said as he pulled his arm away. "That means you just cared that much."

I blinked, but I didn't continue the conversation. I highly doubted it. The chances were…too small. I wouldn't have accepted those chances anyway, which makes it practically non-existent to me.

So Minato was wrong.

"You'll do fine, though. But…you're lucky," he said. "At least you have parents."

"…You're an orphan?" I asked, looking at him in surprise. He seemed like the type to be surrounded by family.

"I don't remember my parents very well. They died when I was young," Minato explained. "When I was…three, maybe."

I nodded, but I didn't say anything. I ran my fingers through the hairs on the sides of my head, staring out at the relatively calm street of Kushina's neighborhood. The midday sun was slowly becoming the evening sun, reaching the horizon at a slow rate.

Staring reminded me of Saturn. I should probably talk to it tomorrow. Or whenever possible. My goal was change, and the bridge exploding was most definitely a _change_ …maybe. I don't know what kind of change it'd be, but it'll be a change. Consulting with Everything's older sibling needed to be done.

"Is that them?"

I looked up and at the direction Minato was pointing towards. I smiled a little and nodded stiffly, because they were running, and the instant I stood up they were shouting in glee. Both Kakashi and Obito practically ran me over, their arms tightly wrapped around my stomach and their faces buried into my clothing. Obito was an absolute sobbing mess, and Kakashi kept on telling me about how stupid I was—and, honestly, it sounded more like he was _complaining_.

I laughed. "Alright, alright! Calm down, my two lovely otouto. I'm fine, and I'm alive," I said. Kakashi looked up at me in a glare mixed with relief. I smiled and patted the silver hairs that stuck up soothingly. "I've got some good news, too."

"W-what kind?" Kakashi mumbled disbelievingly.

I pinched his masked cheek. "You'll see," I replied. "I have to stop by the hospital first."

"What? Why?" They both looked up at me with dark, worried eyes that I just grinned down at.

"Just some minor injuries," I explained. "I wanted to consult with a doctor to see how they're healing. That's all."

"Nee-san, who's that?" Obito whispered, pointing a frail finger at Minato. The yellow-haired shinobi waved almost shyly, standing up with a small smile.

"Oh, that? That, my dear little brothers, is a squirt of mustard." Minato looked sheepish, which made me laugh. "I'm kidding. That's Minato. He's a fellow racer for the title of Hokage."

Obito instantly became enthralled, and glared. But he hid behind me. "He's not gonna beat me," he growled.

I laughed again. "Of course," I agreed. "But I'll beat all three of you."

"That's laughable," Kakashi grumbled, and he pulled away. But his head was bowed.

I ran my fingers through his hair, but they got stuck and his eye twitched under the shadow of his own face. "Someone needs a shower and a hairdresser," I teased.

He pulled my hand out. "N-no I don't," he murmured sheepishly.

I just chuckled. "Let's get going," I said. "We can all walk and talk, can't we?"

Kakashi blinked and looked up at me, his mind and eyes distant. "Huh? Oh…yeah. Sure…"

Obito, on the other hand, was an eager ball of sunshine. He nodded rapidly, and with Minato following, we made way to the hospital.

* * *

When I finished up, I left with good scores, a crutch, and some orders for rest. From there, we walked to the Hokage's office at the academy.

I was slower than I would've liked to be, but honestly the pace was decent enough for a chat.

They kept complaining about how Kushina wasn't there and that they had to eat noodles and dango all week.

But…overall, the two did seem to be doing a bit better. I guess staying at Kushina's helped take their minds off of Sakumo and Ren…the reminders were limited and almost nonexistent there. As a matter of fact, Sakumo never really took the family there at all. He let Kushina keep it as her personal sanctuary. But there were times when Kakashi and Obito had to stay the night at her house. This included stormy nights. Especially the stormy nights, actually.

"Race ya to the academy!" Obito suddenly exclaimed, and he bolted.

Kakashi plawfully glared, and started sprinting after his dark-haired brother.

Minato smiled in amusement. "They're surprisingly energetic."

"I hoped they would be," I replied. "Otherwise I would be concerned about them."

"I'm guessing they took the news hard," he said.

I nodded somberly, and the buzzing sound suddenly started back up. "You guessed right. I sent them to Kushina's for that exact same reason," I explained. "Limited the reminders."

"That's bothering me."

I looked at him with a guarded expression. "What is?"

"You leaving them like that," he stated. "Why would you do such a thing?"

I wanted to say that I knew what I was doing. But nowadays I could barely scrape half of an idea off the ground. I was walking around, blind, never truly starting this—this mission, or crusade, or whatever it was that Saturn assigned to me a few years back. The Kannabi Bridge didn't feel like a start. It just felt like I accomplished another means to an end of this damn war. It was probably something short-termed—something ephemeral—that'll die with history.

So I just shook my head with a frown, turning into the courtyard of the academy. "I couldn't do much else for them," I explained quietly. "And I knew that Kushina would provide a healthier distraction. I just didn't know that she was out on a mission. Otherwise I would've waited."

"O…onee-chan…c-can we come with you?" Obito asked breathlessly.

I looked at him as we entered the courtyard. His face was red and he was panting heavily. I chuckled. "No," I said mirthfully. "Go ahead and wait out here. I have a surprise that needs to be prepared anyways, so you best not come in. Okay?"

"What kind of surprise is it?" Obito chirped. Kakashi had sat up, quiet and interested.

I grinned. "The surprise kind," I replied. "Now stay there. We'll be right back."

Obito gave a pouting face, but sat down and rested to catch his breath. Kakashi, on the other hand, was just sitting there half-winded and unfazed.

Minato and I stepped into the academy, walking through the halls in silence. But then the silence disappeared when the stupid custard started asking me questions again.

"What made you think that you couldn't do much else for your brothers?" he asked, almost sounding surprised.

And here I thought he wasn't nosy at all. I swung my crutch outwards and hit him in the ankle—where it probably hurt most, because tears of pain were leaking from his eyes as he cried out in surprise. "Sorry, my hand slipped," I said dryly.

He glowered at me. "That hurt," he whined.

"Yes, yes. Your tears of miserable torture and pain tell me that," I snapped sarcastically.

"Why can't you just answer my question?" he half complained. The other half was a whining bitch ass pussy. "It was pretty simple—ow!"

"Sorry, my hand is really slippery today! Maybe you should stand clear of it, and find some custard to hide in!"

"My hair isn't custard."

"Yes, of course. I was completely wrong. It's the color of a lemon." I glared at him. "Do you know what lemons do? They make you sour. Your hair makes me sour."

He gave me a frown that was confused just as much as it was amused and mirthful. "That—"

"Makes _so much sense_ that you can't comprehend the sense thus it makes no sense to you," I interrupted loudly. I kept my glare on him, pinning him down and giving him the case of nerves. "Now stop pestering me."

He gave me a nervous chuckle and smile, and we stopped talking. But the air changed when the door came into view, and a simple knock allowed us entry.

Inside the office, Sakumo was sitting in a chair. But Kushina was standing, posture elegant and respectful with her shoulders square and her arms at her side. But they did turn to look at her. They were all stiff stares, and even stiffer body languages.

And they were all zoned in on _me_. Minato was totally ignored, even though he was the one to enter first, to open and close the door and to move the most.

I gave a nervous smile and bowed awkwardly. "Um, did…did I do something wrong…?" I asked hesitantly. Hiruzen's burning stare was grating on my nerves. Not to mention, the buzzing was slowly escalating to a pitched buzz. What came with it was suspicion—alarm, and…fear. And the fear was reflecting on me, too. What was so suspicious and alarming that made the _Hokage_ of all people feel such a combination?

"…Haruto," the Sandaime spoke bluntly. "You're suspended."


	8. Nested

**This chapter is a chapter. Idk what to call it; it's kind of mixed with feels and plot points and stuff. And it was a bit to chew. And by chew I mean edit. Plus I didn't have internet over the week so accessing things aren't convenient anymore. But, I got a head start on chapter 8.**

 **Anyways, I'm really happy with the feedback…of course, some people are confused by Saturn. Don't worry, I do know what I'm doing…it's not like I'm a novice with this kind of thing. SI on the other hand is a whole other story tho lol.**

 **Recommended song: anything calm, really…this chapter is just a rainbow of things.**

 **Original word count: 8.3k~ (I swear the number just keeps rising…)**

 **Enjoy! :3**

* * *

 _Chapter 7: Nested_

* * *

"I'm…" I mumbled flatly. My nervous smile widened nervously. "Could you repeat that, Hokage-sama…?"

He _can't_ be serious.

"You're suspended," he repeated bluntly.

He _is_ serious. What the _fuck_.

"Um…might I respectfully ask why?"

"I expected you to peacefully finish this mission, so I didn't bring it up," he said. "But the cost for failing this mission would be a week-long suspension under the orders of the Daimyō."

"Y— _Daimyō_?" I sputtered out, because I understood how high a position the Daimyō had…head of the government. The place where the Illumanti shit happened—where the _Zodiac Killer_ could be! Jesus fuck. "He said that?"

"Yes," Hiruzen confirmed. He put a hand on his desk and leaned back. "I'll need to compensate your weaponry and headband until you are back in commission."

Why? _Why_? It was _just_ a _few_ bombs! Only a _few_ paper bombs—which, by the way, was a very stupid concept…they looked more like those corny ass talismans you'd buy at a sketchy tourist shop to "ward off the yōkai"! Bullshit.

But I pulled the headband off from my thigh and undid the connection my pouches had with my attire, making way to the desk and setting it down with spaghetti arms.

The instant they left my palm, tension released and I deflated. "May I be dismissed, Hokage-sama…?"

"Of course," he permitted kindly. He smiled. "Both you and Sakumo are dismissed. I will call you both in a day or two after you've rested and reunited."

"Oh…I almost forgot about that," I uttered out as I left with Sakumo behind me.

He smiled, putting his hand on my shoulder. "It'll be alright," he said. "You'll make it through seven days, won't you? You've still got plenty of art supplies to keep yourself occupied."

"Oh yeah, tou-san, can I make a mural in that empty room across from yours and kaa…your room?" I asked, which totally switched my mood. I could be down about it later. Besides…rest sounded really appealing. But…still, this suspension thing was shocking…and I guess I had to help with everyone else get to better terms with Ren's death.

He blinked in surprise at me before dropping into a smile. "That was certainly a sharp change in mood," he commented. "But yes, I've wanted to do something with that room for a time…I was actually thinking about using it as a storage. I mean, you kids are growing up so fast! Kakashi and Obito are gonna be genin soon…and, disregarding the events that happened just now, I feel like you'll become a jōnin very soon."

"Yeah right," I grumbled, but I…I was flustered. Jōnin was a prominent title that I saw as a long-distance goal. "I was thinking of something traditionally supernatural. But that's one of many ideas."

Sakumo chuckled. "Creepy."

"Very," I agreed. "Especially in such an open room like that." I looked out the window. "How are we gonna tell Kakashi and Obito that their tou-san's is alive? I mean, it's not everyday you hear about it."

"You can go out there first," Sakumo said. "You'll do better at breaking the news. It'll be easier for them to soak in."

"But how?" I complained. I didn't enjoy being the one to break such news…because, honestly, I wasn't the messenger.

"Do your best," he wished, and then he ducked behind a pillar as the clear glass door came into view enough to expose Kakashi and Obito sitting in a grassy patch and just…talking, I guess.

I huffed. Reunions were things that I really hated. They were stupid. They were tiring. And I hated attending them. I never went to my high school reunions partially because of it. The other part was because of my busy schedules. And my absences from my nation.

I avoided them at…most costs.

Not to mention suspension was still kinda crashing down on me. Be down about it later my ass, I failed and it _sucked_.

I pushed the door open, swinging myself out to the boys on my stupid supports.

"Onee-chan, where's our surprise?" Obito asked instantly. He looked up at me with big black eyes that were melting me.

I squinted at him, but then smiled enough to make my eyes close. "It's inside," I said. "You two go on in, yeah? I'll join you in a second."

Obito brightened up. "Yay! Surprise!" he cheered. He hopped up, and practically ran in.

But Kakashi stayed behind, slowly standing up and looking at me. "You're lying," he accused.

I dropped my smile and blinked at him. "I just need a few moments to recompose myself," I said. "I just got hit with some news—which is the surprise, by the way." A total white lie. "Go see it, will ya, you little scaredy cat."

He glared, half-stomping away in a huffy agitation at the frien fly insult.

I honestly wanted to stay out of the reunion. Family I might be, but I felt out of place here. Even after living in this world for ten years, being myself in general and just…working with this strange chakra thing, I still felt like I was in another world, merely dreaming—or perhaps I invaded this body by accident while in the womb. Or, maybe I really was dead and this was just the afterlife. Generally just resting with other dead things wasn't something I fancied. I don't know.

But it still didn't feel like it worked.

When Kakashi closed the door behind his heels, I turned away and starting wobbling off to home.

"Haruto, where are you going?"

I stopped dead, recognizing the voice of mustard boy, and pointed my crutch out towards the road ahead of me. "That way," I replied bluntly.

What is with blond's and interfering of this world, anyway?

I heard him jump and land on his feet. I took it as a cue to hurry up and leave, but he was running and he was running _fast_.

Minato was in front of me, arms spread out, and _clearly_ blocking my way out of the courtyard. I glared. " _Why_ ," I snapped. I glared and swung my crutch at him. "Stupid mustard boy."

He smiled nervously at me, obviously wary of what I could do with a metal object. "Now, now," he said quickly. "Your brothers need you, don't they? I-I mean—they're seeing their _dead dad_! Surely they'd want their sister with them."

I put my crutch down and pouted. "I'm tired and reunions are _tiring_ ," I shot back. "So I'm going home to be _not_ tired. Now move it custard idiot!" I moved forward and swung my crutch at him in a flurry of half-desperate attempts.

They barely worked. More or less, he was still in the same area as before. I huffed at him. _Why_ did he have to be so stubborn?

He waved his hands quickly. "C-come on… _please_?" he pleaded. "I'm almost begging here…!"

"Your status went from custard idiot to custard sissy!" I proclaimed loudly. I did laugh though. "Begging a ten-year-old is priceless though."

He sighed and planted his hands on his hips, his comically frantic demeanor changing. "But in all seriousness, Haruto, you should join them," he said with a dead-set tone I recognized all too well. "You're their sister. You can't just bail out on something like this."

"Watch me."

Minato narrowed his eyes at me a little. It was almost in a scolding way, too, similar to how Ren would scold Obito or I would scold Kakashi. It was annoying, nonetheless. I easily took that as a sign of superiority. "They're your family. Don't ignore them."

"I'm not—"

"Then why are you leaving like this?" he interrupted, crossing his arms.

I smiled at him. It stretched widely enough to make my eyes close. "Can you p—"

"By the gods, if you two are gonna argue go do it somewhere _else_ dattebane!" Kushina shouted from a window. "Minato, give her a break; she's _ten_! And Haruto! Stop acting all high and mighty, get your head out of your a—um, butt 'ttebane! You're _ten_!"

I huffed out of irritated amusement and looked up at her. "Just you watch, I'll be turning _eleven_ in a few months!" I retorted sarcastically.

Kushina just busted out into a fit of laughter, backing away from the window and disappearing down the hall. She closed the window while she was at it, too, and it just sounded so joyous and genuine…I loved it.

"Are you still gonna leave?" Minato asked.

"Yes," I replied without any hesitation, which seemed to take him by surprise. But then I sighed and rolled my dark eyes. "If it makes you feel _any_ better, I can explain it to you later…or something. I'm tired. I'll tell you if I regret doing it and then you can rub it in."

He blinked at me.

"Bye," I said, and left the academy grounds as quickly as I could.

I sighed again. That was probably a bit more trouble than it was worth, but I honestly can't find myself regretting it…

The family would have an understanding.

But I still have that mural to think about.

* * *

I cooped myself in my room for the rest of the day. I sketched out many traditional yōkai, the more popular one being the Gumiho…and I guess I exhausted myself doing nothing but dragging a pencil across a page multiple times to the point of sleep.

It was a nonexistent period of rest, totally useless and wasted. I couldn't really get my mind off the mural enough to actually get any sleep…

But then I was glad that I didn't fall asleep, and that I was just lying on my bed, still, and hugging a pillow comfortingly. I regretted not crawling under the blankets though. It was getting cold. However, the reason why I was glad was because Minato stopped by. And Sakumo obviously guided him to my room.

"That's a bummer. She fell asleep," the older man said quietly.

"Oh. Well, do you want me to come back tomorrow?" Minato inquired in a whisper.

"No. You've got your orders. And, besides, I have a pretty good idea as to why she would avoid such a thing," Sakumo stated. He was obviously moving around to get to the closet for an extra blanket.

"You do?"

The man chuckled silently. "Maybe," he replied. "It could be because of the fact that Haruto is rather sensitive towards people. I'm guessing you haven't noticed in the short time you've known her, but she considers others around her before herself."

Minato sounded confused. "Oh. Then…why'd she leave?"

"I can only guess. It might just be overwhelming, but I don't know," Sakumo murmured, putting the blanket over me. "You'll have to ask her yourself but you're a smart kid, Minato. Surely you can figure it out."

The blond's sigh was quiet.

"Let's leave her alone for now," he suggested. "We've all had a really long day, and I'm sure you're as tired as I am."

"Yeah, at this point I'm probably sleeping on my feet."

"Then why don't you spend the night here?" Sakumo suggested. Their movement indefinitely sounded like they were leaving.

"You're sure…?"

"Yes, yes."

"But don't you have plans with your kids? I'd feel like I'd be intruding…"

"I do, but only with the boys. I'm leaving Haruto out."

"What? Why?"

"Well, I know how she works. She's…my daughter. I also know that she still needs to come to terms with everything, so it makes things…"

Then they were out of audible and visible reach, signified by the tap of the dojo door sliding close. I huffed and sat up, still hugging the pillow. Sakumo was definitely pulling some strings and whether or not it was done on purpose, or on accident, was a to-be-thought-out-later thing. For now, I had a sketchbook, a pencil, and some feelings.

I just had to sort myself out first.

But, of course, it was interrupted by some hissing sounds. Odd. I looked at the door, blinking sluggishly at the crack. That…wasn't supposed to happen.

And nobody was there. It wasn't like Sakumo to make tapping sounds, right? I mean, he wasn't a man of mistake. Not…mistakes like this, at least. Something white moved at the bottom of my peripheral. So, naturally, I looked at it.

There was a white snake, slowly slithering towards me.

I was enough of a professional to know what to do—I mean, I've held snakes before and all, and I've seen garden ones out in the wild…and a cousin of mine had a pet Python in my before life. But a snake, a _white one_ at that, was clearly slithering—towards me—and _hissing_.

Besides, I was suspended. I don't need to be professional, do I?

So I (professionally) screamed, jumping off my bed and running out of my room. I slammed the door shut, and kept it secured for a few seconds. Honestly, I was shocked. How the fuck did a _snake get into my fucking room_?

But then the stupid serpent _shot out through the paper_.

I was quick to drop a loud curse, vivid but short. I quickly started sprinting down the hall—which was stupid, of course, because who can run from a creature who could slide across the ground for tens of miles?

"Haruto!" I heard Sakumo call.

I rounded a corner, entering the living room a few seconds later and jumping onto the couch. But the fucking snake was still pretty damn fast. It entered the living room barely a second after me. " _Snake_!" I shrieked, jumping off the couch and onto the coffee table.

It all happened in a bit of a blur, but Minato suddenly jumped in a grabbed the snake behind the head. Its natural reaction was to coil around his arm, which really creeped me out. It sent goosebumps up and down my arms and made me shiver.

"A snake?" Sakumo said as he hurried into the living room. "Odd. How'd it get in here?"

Minato looked at me. "It was chasing Haruto," he stated. He frowned, obviously worried. "Are you okay?"

" _No_! A _snake_ just chased me out of my _room_ ," I snapped. I got down from the table and crossed my arms, still breathing heavily from the sprint. And my hands were shaking a little.

"What a pretty little thing," Sakumo commented. He chuckled. "Why don't you put it outside, Minato? I'm sure it's starting to hurt."

The blond smiled nervously. "Yeah…" he agreed. "I'll be right back. Do you want me to put it in the front or back yard?"

"Back yard. It'll be easier to get to the wild that way," Sakumo replied. Minato nodded and left quickly with the hissing snake, and the oldest in the compound looked at me. "You caused quite the ruckus. I'm sure you woke everyone up."

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's fine," he said. "You don't need to apologize. What happened?"

"Well I woke up," I explained. "And I heard hissing. I looked at my door, and saw that it was opened up a little. That snake was coming towards me so I ran."

"Hmm…that's strange. We would've noticed…"

I blinked at him curiously. "How come?"

"Minato stopped by to visit, as you could see, so we ended up walking and talking," he explained.

"Why so late?"

"Beats me. Anyways, why don't you go back to your room?" Sakumo suggested. "You've had a long day, and it's getting to be a bit too late."

"Okay…but can you at least make sure there are no more snakes?" I asked grimly.

He smiled and nodded. "Of course," he reassured. "Goodnight, Haru."

"Night," I said, and then I stalked off back to my room. Stupid snakes…I didn't even think they would tread this deep into Konoha. I mean, they aren't exactly known to wander into populated areas. Not unless they were placed.

I sighed quietly. I was honestly too tired for this, and the pain of my broken ribs were just now settling in.

It seemed like getting some damn sleep was gonna be harder than expected.

* * *

The next morning was really, really boring. And I barely had gotten any rest. I ended up staying awake until the ass crack of dawn. To top it all off, that is the time I often wake up at, sometimes four or sometimes never because I pulled an all-nighter. My discipline didn't allow me to sleep past eight…so I was downstairs, eating warmed up leftover bento, green tea and black coffee with Ren's dog at my feet at eight-thirty AM sharp.

Otherwise, I was alone—well, in terms of being awake.

And I had a feeling I would be for a while, too. The war had been eerily quiet—and, I daresay, _calm_. Hiruzen probably told Kakashi and Obito's academy teacher (or was it teacher _s_ ) about the situation in detail…and I'm guessing Sakumo, Minato and Kushina were all out of commission until they were recuperated enough to swing a punch without hurting themselves too much to be branded a liability.

Then, I was ( _still_ ) suspended.

I huffed quietly, and drank the tea. Two mugs were out in front of me, one full of coffee and the other full of tea. The bento got boring, and there was nothing to do.

I didn't fancy _just_ reading a book, which was something most of the household did when they were bored or too tire for anything. I had to have a certain mood to follow along the plot and enjoy it. And, I'm wildly guessing, but I do believe I lost the authority to do shinobi things and have shinobi access.

So I just sat there, with bags under my eyes, and crazy red hair that spiked out and naturally covered one of my eyes with a stupid mutt curling up and warming my cold feet.

I sighed and looked under the table. I never cared for dogs…I mean, I love their companionship and all; but they're too energetic and destructive and outgoing and thirsty for attention. College friend had a dog, shared an apartment with said college friend and dog and the stupid thing _chewed my fucking mattress_.

I stared at Ren's dog. "Why are you here?" I grumbled. "Why don't you go back to your dog friends with the Inuzuka? Your companion is _dead_ , you know." I couldn't help but glare. It needed to fuck off and _go home_.

But the mutt just yawned and whined.

And my heart _melted_. I felt goosebumps jump into action and I made a face at it. "Seriously."

Ren's dog still didn't move. Instead, it put its head down on its paws and went back to cuddling the feet that weren't there anymore.

"Stupid dog…" I muttered.

"Onee-chan…why are you being mean to Yoru-chan?"

I blinked and looked at the kitchen entry way. Obito was standing there, short and small with tired eyes being rubbed by sluggish fists. His raven black hair was messy, and his eyes were not only red, but they were also swollen.

I sighed quietly. "Were you crying again?" I asked almost rhetorically. But he nodded anyway. So, I did the big sister thing; I turned my body towards him and opened my arms to invite him in for a hug.

Obito didn't really need to be invited though. Nor did he hesitate to take it. He rushed up to me and wrapped his arms around my stomach, instantly crying and sobbing into my shirt. He slipped down to his knees, his fingers curling into the fabric as he just…broke down. Again.

I almost sighed. _Almost_. But…it wasn't exactly appropriate. He was crying, obviously, and just really sad in general over the death of Ren. Because, as far as I was concerned, Kazue's presence in his life was literally nothing. Ren was his mother.

So, how could I help him feel better?

Maybe him about Kazue—or, the good parts…at least. But I wouldn't lie about her whereabouts. She was still in jail.

There really wasn't much else I could think of. So I waited for my moment to speak up. A moment of which I waited for a solid twenty minutes for. It was almost nine when I looked at the oven clock.

Obito's sobs became far and distant in happenstances. He stopped leaking water from his adorably large black eyes and he was slowly becoming limp in grip.

"You know…" I said quietly, "you aren't motherless."

He seemed to tense up a little. So, for soothing measures, I started to smooth out his messy hair.

"Our kaa-san, the one who made us," I almost cringed, "is still alive. Did you know that?"

He looked up at me a little, sniffing but calm and curious. "R-really…?"

I smiled. "Yeah," I replied. "She's here, in Konoha…but, unfortunately, we won't be able to see her for a long time."

Obito's eyes widened a little. "Why?"

"She's serving time," I explained. "You know what that means, right?" He slowly nodded. "But she's alive. And she loves you, even though she can't see you. So you…you aren't motherless."

"B-but what about K-kashi…?" he stuttered out.

"You've both got me, don't you?" I pointed out. I snorted mirthfully. "I guess I could attempt mother hen. But I'd imagine Kushina doing a better job…"

Obito managed a smile, bright but weaker than his past ones. "You'll do fine," he croaked.

I just smiled back, and changed the subject. "Anyways, I think you should get back to sleep. You look like a zombie and you ruined my favorite shirt," I said.

He pouted. But then he yawned, and gave a sheepish look.

"Come on, I'll tuck you in for a short nap."

"I'm too old for that, though…"

"I will tuck you in when you're twenty and you'll like it," I snapped. "Now let's get a move on. I don't want your snot drying out."

He giggled, but got up, cleaned his face off, and I led him back to his room. Despite his protest, I did actually tuck him in. The lights were turned off, the rising sun was blocked, and I closed the dojo door behind my heels when I exited.

I, myself, was starting to feel the lack of sleep catch up.

"Need more coffee…" I half whispered as I walked down the hall.

When I entered the kitchen, the stupid dog was sitting in my chair drinking both my coffee and my tea. I ripped off my slipper and threw it at the hairy beast. "Shoo! Go! _Out_!" I shouted. " _Away_ , demon! _Beast_! _Mongrel_!"

It didn't listen.

So, naturally, I pushed it off and glared at it. "Those are _mine_! Never return, or I daresay the power of Jesus repel you _demon_!"

Ren's dog scrambled away, but its tongue was lulling and its tail was wagging with happiness and joy. It scurried off into the living room, and from there, it was (probably) gonna hide in Sakumo's room.

And then Minato stumbled into the kitchen, zombie-like and deadbeat exhausted. "What is with all the commotion?" he grumbled out, falling into the chair across from mine with squinted eyes and messy hair.

I practically yanked the cups from their spots on the table, dumping them out and half dropping them in the sink. "That stupid dog drank my coffee and tea," I snapped. "I leave it unattended with my drinks for a solid _minute_ and it has the audacity to _drink them_! I swear to any sort of deity out there that it will live in a hole if I smell it on my cups ever again…" I crossed my arms.

"You don't mean that," he said sluggishly. "Oh, um…is there still coffee?"

"Well, unless you consult with Mr. Steal-yo-coffee-and-tea, then _no_ , there is no more coffee," I half-ranted.

"Oh."

"Great conversation, would you like some tea with its imminent death?" I asked shortly.

He slowly nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Uh, yeah…sure." He yawned. "But I heard crying earlier. What was that all about?"

I felt myself stiffen a little as I started pouring some of the green, lukewarm leftover tea. "Obito is still coming to terms with kaa-san's death," I explained. "I had him go back to bed. Better to sleep it off than anything…"

"What about you?"

I looked at him, sliding his cup of tea over before sitting down with my own. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well…your tou-san is alive after being reportedly KIA. It's not everyday that happens," he pointed out. "And then your kaa-san is…" his face tightened as he grimaced, "well, she's still gone."

I huffed. "Didn't we talk about this _yesterday_?"

He nodded. "Yeah. But I felt like you were lying."

"I'm _ten_ ," I pointed out. I rolled my eyes. "You're stupid."

Sakumo suddenly appeared, literally popping up behind the frame that joined the living room and kitchen and dining room without any warning. Both of us were obviously taken by surprise. I almost spit my tea, and Minato almost lost his grip on the mug handle.

"Stop bullying each other, kids," he chided. "Half the house is still sleeping and I'd rather not have another spurt of loud noises to wake everybody else up."

"Sorry, sir," Minato apologized.

"I did nothing," I muttered dramatically as I drank more of my hour-old lukewarm tea.

"Alright," Sakumo said indifferently. He sighed. "Do we have coffee?"

"The dog drank it. Would you like some lukewarm tea prepared at eight-thirty sharp? Also, tou-san, we're out of beans. So we're hopelessly dried out on coffee."

He sighed, again, but this time it was heavier and more tired. "You seem to be bright with energy. Why don't you go to the store and buy some coffee beans?"

"Do I _have_ to?"

Sakumo chuckled. "It doesn't look like you have anything else to do," he said.

I pouted. "Fine…"

"And take Yoru with you. He needs to stretch his legs and get the caffeine out of his system."

I sighed dramatically. "Do I _have_ to?"

"Yes. Now get going before the streets are too crowded."

"Fine…" I practically slid out of my seat, making my way to my room to change and get dressed. I just got into a simple black-sleeved quarter shirt, cargo shorts and shinobi zori. I straightened my messy hair out enough to not look homeless—but it was still sticking up and covering my left eye. "Dumb dog!" I called. "Come!"

The darkly furred mutt was at my door with a lulling tongue and wagging tail.

I stuffed some money in my pocket, and then I took my leave.

But then Sakumo stopped me.

"What have I told you about keeping your shoes in your room?"

I smiled at him sheepishly. "To not do it."

" _Exactly_. When you get back I expect them to be at the door."

"Do I—"

" _Yes_."

I huffed, but waved my farewell. "'Kay, bye."

"I'll see you later," he said back, and then I actually did leave.

* * *

The streets were still fairly empty when I went to buy some coffee beans…and, admittedly, find Saturn.

I've lost the dumb dog a number of times along the way, but honestly, I couldn't care. It was an Inuzuka dog, it could fine me or leave.

Ren hadn't had it for very long. The mutt was, well…a mutt. Her original wolf-dog companion had died many years ago in the Second War before anyway, so she took it in upon an appropriate age. The damn thing was just a year old.

The shop where we bought our beans was empty when I got there. But I got what I needed, and then left almost as soon as I entered.

"I hear you got suspended for destroying the bridge."

I jumped a little and turned around. A woman with grey eyes and straight white hair stood there, wearing a simple t-shirt and stylish pants. "…Saturn?" I asked hesitantly.

The woman smiled. "Yes," it said. "I've come back to tell you that there are certainly a number of changes."

"Like what kind?"

"For one, my appearances will stay the same," it stated. "I will appear as I do now, so you may appropriately refer to me as this gender."

I frowned and slowly nodded. That…was something.

"Another is that you have created what I call rifts," it— _she_ stated.

"Oh. Um…what is that? I'm guessing it has to do with messing things up?"

"No, not at all," she rebutted. "Your existence is writing itself in. Divine beings exist here for that reason. What you change in the future will be called a rift, and mind you, it can be anything."

"Oh…um. Are the…uh, divine beings mad?" I asked.

"No. Not as long as you ascend to godhood or die properly," Saturn replied. "Cheating death or accomplishing immortality will banish you back to your own dimension, and it'll be a mess because in order to get you here I had to write in your death."

I looked at her grimly. "You did that?"

"Yes," she admitted bluntly. "You only managed to survive because I was forcing it."

"But I thought my dimension didn't need _divine beings_ to interfere."

"Exactly."

I sighed. So she jacked up my dimension by interfering, wonderful. "And the woman in the hockey mask?"

"A proxy."

"Who was she?"

"An old friend of yours."

"Ouch."

"My apologies."

"Hn…"

Saturn chuckled. "It's fine. I made sure she didn't have to suffer."

I glared. "You killed her."

"No, no! She's alive and living her life." She grinned and patted my back. "Back to the subject, little demon."

"You yourself have changed a little," I stated skeptically.

"I hadn't considered how major the rifts would be," she explained. "I wasn't taking anything seriously. So now I am."

"Where and what are the rifts?"

"Ren's late death, Yoru's existence, Minato's questions, Obito's adoption…" Saturn's mouth twisted thoughtfully. "If my knowledge is correct, so was the boy you found on the road."

I blinked in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yes…he is to be Minato's son. He was from an entirely possible future, and he left an…imprint. It's an anomaly that happens, because time tries stabilize itself sometimes."

"Who is the mother?"

"That's to be determined. I've spent some time speculating on the future possibilities, and out of all of them, half had Minato falling for you instead of Kushina. You end up having a child, and that was him."

My face went beat red. "N-no way," I stuttered.

"It's a rift. But you can fix it. When Kushina asks him out, you could push him towards her, and I do believe it'll eliminate certain futures."

I nodded slowly. But still, that was a lot to soak in. I mean, it's not everyday that you get told who is (to be) in love with you.

"Don't stress too much about it, or else it will come true," Saturn advised pointedly.

"How can I _not_? And…besides, you could be manipulating me!"

"Of course I am!" She laughed. "I'm a being of time, I have to—since, you know, I'm directly interfering."

I rolled my eyes. "Anything else?"

"Your sensei, Kagami, is a rift. He was supposed to die when he was twenty-five, but he was indirectly saved by you."

"How?"

"By completely controlled events. Kazue and Hiro weren't supposed to be alive, let alone have a family. They were both to be killed in the previous war at young ages, which is why it didn't work out. But it was the only thing that could make other things work out properly."

I sighed. "It better be worth it."

"That's up to you to decide."

I rolled my eyes again. "What else?"

"There's…nothing more to mention. But, you did throw my snake out. I was attempting to reach out to you."

"By sending a _snake_ to my _room_?" I snapped.

She laughed. "Yes."

I huffed. Honestly, hearing her laugh was really… _weird_. This Saturn, one who was _serious_ , totally dictated the meaning _of_ seriousness. Laughs and giggles was not _that_. "Okay…what about the Kannabi?"

"The results are obscured," Saturn explained in disappointment. She sighed. "Which means I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"As omniscient as I seem, I simply can't know _everything_. Some divines cloud it," she pointed out. "It means that Kannabi being destroyed this early has created some unpredictable futures. It may seem unlikely to walk down those futures…but, honestly, they are the ones to be most likely to happen."

"Why?" I asked, feeling sort of confused because this was very sudden. We were standing in the middle of the street and talking about this.

"It's just the way things are."

"Okay, yeah…but _why_?"

Saturn shook her head. "It's not in my control, little demon," she pointed out. "You should go, by the way. You can't keep everyone waiting for the coffee."

"Well…alright. When will I see you again?"

"It won't be too long. I'll reach out to you with a bird if another rift shows, or if something pops up," Saturn supplied. "See ya." She waved with a kind smile, and then she was gone.

I looked down at the mutt. "Don't tell tou-san," I said. Ren's dog barked, wagging its tail, and I rolled my eyes. "C'mon, let's go."

* * *

The rest of the day dragged on slowly. Sakumo, Obito and Kakashi were all out and about, reconnecting and bonding like sons and father's would.

The mutt was chewing on a bone in the corner of the empty room across from Sakumo and, formerly, Ren's. I moved a tarp in so then the floor wouldn't get messed up. After that was set up, I moved a short ladder on it, making mini trips for paint brushes and, well…paints.

I wanted to draw an anime scene I saw a few decades ago, when my little brothers and sister were messing with YouTube for entertaubment. It was faded, and distant, but I remembered it well enough to draw it down.

A young girl was on a steep hill, singing under a sakura tree overlooking a city…or perhaps a lake. A brown-eared dog was in her bag, and an old lady was listening. It really was nice, too, even though the sound was layered over by some song.

"What will you be painting?"

I looked over at the dojo door. Minato was standing there, wearing a shirt and his shinobi pants. I frowned at him. "I thought you left," I said.

"Um…well, I probably should've told you this a bit earlier, but Hokage-sama ordered me to keep an eye on you to make sure you weren't doing anything…suspicious, I guess," he said. "So I'll be staying here until you're back on duty."

" _Suspicious_? What, does he think I'm going rogue or something?" I asked irritably, because honestly that was really _ridiculous_. I was pretty loyal…but not too much, I guess…it was a good enough amount to not commit treason at the very least.

"No, he just wants to make sure you won't disobey the terms of your suspension," he explained. "Your father already knows."

"You make it sound like a contract," I muttered mirthfully. A contracted suspension…amusing.

"Oh."

"Anyways, I'm painting something I saw a little while ago when I was younger," I explained. He gave me a confused look. I rolled my eyes. "To answer your earlier question, idiot."

"Ahh…what was it?"

"That's a secret," I shot back. I quickly picked my sketchbook up and look at it. The tree and hill were the foregrounds, along with a woman with a revealing kimono and black hair loosely tied at the base of her neck. Her skin was pale, her eyelashes were thick, and her lips were a shade of magenta that matched her kimono.

It was Yū, to be specific. I honestly felt kinda nostalgic when remembering her. But that place we met at was disgusting. She was certainly a paradoxical character. I could tell, because she loved drugs but hated doing them, because she loved sex but rarely performed it, because she hated black marketing but absolutely purred at the profits. That was how I got back to Konoha—if my assumptions are correct. Profit.

"Who's that?"

I screeched and instinctively turned around to kick the origin—who was obviously Minato. He wheezed in surprise as I kicked him in the stomach, doubling over before falling onto his back.

" _Bastardo_! Don't sneak up on my like that!" I shouted.

He laughed, wheezing and crying out from the pain of being kicked in the stomach so suddenly. "Ow! That hurt!"

"Then don't sneak up on me like that!"

"What in the world is with all the ruckus?" Sakumo's voice sounded. He stepped into the room, followed by Kakashi and Obito.

"This stupid squirt of mustard snuck up on me!" I snapped.

"And then she kicked me…" Custard groaned.

Sakumo's lips twitched in amusement before he looked at me. "Haru, please apologize."

"Fine," I said shortly. I looked at Minato and smiled a toothy smile. "So sorry for that."

Kakashi laughed and Obito fell into a fit of giggles unique to him. Minato laughed as well, and Sakumo was obviously trying not to smile.

"Now, now boys," he chided mirthfully. "To the baths. You both stink."

"Aw, but I don't want to," Obito protested.

"No whining. Let's go."

"'Kay!" And while my dear little brothers skipped away, Sakumo followed with more patience.

"Hey, leave a towel for me!" I called after them. "I'm gonna take a bath later."

Sakumo chuckled. "Alright, will do."

"'Kay, thanks," I said, and then I turned back to the wall to scale the drawing out.

"But in all seriousness," Minato suddenly spoke as he slowly sat up. "Who is she?"

I slipped a cloth on my head to keep my hair out of my face before grabbing a paint brush and a bucket of darkly colored paint to start the night sky. "An old friend," I replied. "I just barely remember her enough to draw a quartered view. But she was really kind despite how mean she was sometimes."

I couldn't help but wonder what kind of role she played in all this. I mean…it's quite clear that everybody does, and whether they are a rift or not didn't really matter to me.

"Do you remember her name?"

"Eh."

"Is that a no?"

"Yes."

He chuckled and got to his feet. "Alright, then. I'll leave you to it."

"Huh? Oh. Yup. But do you think you can get some dango for me? I know I'll be hungry for a snack later on."

Minato looked at me pointedly. "I'm not an errand boy."

"You're right, you're a squirt of mustard," I retorted lightheartedly. I rolled my eyes. "I'm not gonna try anything, if that's what you're thinking."

"Fine…" he mumbled. "What kind?"

"Any kind."

"Well…alright," Minato said. "I'll be back in a bit."

I just nodded, and officially got to work on making the dark night sky.

* * *

The passing day's mainly consisted of me walking with the mutt, painting, and pointlessly arguing with Minato over small things—mainly because I was bored and I had nothing to do. Of course, the arguments were kinda biased, one-sided and just a way to make the day a bit more exciting.

I went out and spent time with Sakumo, too, which was kind of nice because we didn't do it very often due to our line of work and high demands for his skill. It was refreshing.

Kakashi and Obito were doing better. Kakashi had clearly gone down a peg or two, but it didn't seem to prevent him from outside brawls with Obito—or his training sessions.

Obito, on the other hand, was a book waiting to be read. Something was clearly bothering him in the four days that have gone by, and it seemed to have originated from the day I started my mural. So, obviously, I brought it up when he was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen alone.

"What's bothering you?"

He blinked and looked at me. "Nothing," he said, but he was clearly avoiding eye contact. Which meant he was lying.

"Uh-huh," I muttered, taking a drink of water with a skeptical stare that was making him comically nervous. "Then why are you so nervous, my dear little otouto…?"

"U-um…no reason," he stuttered.

"I see, I see," I drawled out, taking another drink. "Why the stutter? Are you, I daresay, _hiding_ something? From _me_ , you're lovely and trustworthy onee-chan? Ah, Obi, I'm _hurt_!"

He looked at me with wide eyes. "Alright, alright!" he said. "I'll tell you. But promise you won't tell anyone else?"

I leaned in and nodded.

"'Kashi and tou-san's crotch hairs are white," he whispered in my ear.

I felt my face heat up as I started laughing hysterically. My ears were getting really, really hot, and honestly that was the most embarrassing thing _ever_ to hear from your little brother. But it was _hilarious_. "Our little secret," I told him in between fits of laughter. He was kinda laughing, too, but he clearly didn't get why it was so funny.

"What secret?" Kakashi asked as he entered the kitchen. He looked at me. "What's so funny?"

I laughed again. "Nothing, nothing!" I said, tears of amusement leaking from my eyes as I left the kitchen hysterically howling—because Obito had been _staring_.

Which, ew, considering their relationship and all…but by any sort of divine out there it was _priceless_.

* * *

"Five days without your chūnin status," Minato suddenly said. He chuckled. "I don't know if I should be worried or impressed."

I rolled my eyes, pausing my painting process to dip my brush in pink paint in order to continue the detailing of the sakura tree petals. "I'm flattered," I replied flatly.

"I think it should be a bit of both," he went on. "A lot of shinobi kind of get stir crazy after so long."

"Are you kidding me? I've been stir crazy since day _one_ ," I retorted. "Why do you think I argued with you so much?"

"I thought you were bored."

"Bah! They're both the same."

He rolled his eyes from where he was lying, book in hand and dog by side. "No, they're not."

"Well, in this case, _yes_ ," I shot back. "I mean, they all ended in me calling you a squirt of mustard, right?"

Minato snorted. "Touché."

I chuckled. "Now shush," I snapped. "I need to focus."

He didn't say anything, more, and I got back to work.

The mural was going well… _really_ well, actually. It was almost finished. I just needed to touch up on some details before I started highlighting. Of course, that would eat up a bit of time—but, honestly, I had _all_ the time I could possibly get.

Yū was smoking from a long pipe, and next to her were three animals: A fox, a raccoon, and a cat. They were from that strange hallucination-vision thing I had a few years ago, when I lost my finger…and, of course, met Saturn. It was all so confusing and unbelievable…but that couldn't matter, it seemed, because new information kept pouring in and now things like rifts existed and the teen behind me was becoming one of them. I couldn't dote on certain things. _Nothing_ was waiting on me.

I sighed quietly, stepping back a little to observe the picture in whole. Over the lake, there were floating those lamps people would light up and…well, let them float in the name of honor. Each had a different word, unique to what I remember from my past life.

A lot of them were words of the medical industry. But others were from the things I've seen in my time as a CI and consultant of the cops and FBI…and there was even a period where I acted as a vital witness for a black ops team to catch an African drug dealing hit man who was, at the time, on American soil. I accidentally associated myself with him.

I had put his alias in Japanese—George, to be specific, and quite honestly it was kind of a stupidly generic alias.

"It looks nice," Minato commented. "It's certainly an interesting take. Where did all those words come from?"

"Just thoughts," I smoothly lied. "It's nothing symbolic. I mostly added them in for the sake of scenery. It was kinda boring with just a lake and a night sky."

"Ahh…I see. What's next?"

"Highlighting," I explained. "Oh, and then final touches. I should somewhat finish within the next few hours."

Minato hummed thoughtfully before going silent again to read. Then, I got back to highlighting.

I still had yet to actually paint in the reflections of the floating lamps. It would be a pain in the ass, but the pain in the ass could be handled later…I guess.

Because Sakumo came to the door with a messenger of the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama summons you both."

I raised an eyebrow at her, stepping down. "Did he say why?"

"No. But he said it was urgent," she said, "and that you and Minato-san are to come as soon as you hear of the message."

"Well…alright," I murmured. "We'll be going, then."

She nodded, bowing, and then excused herself. She disappeared in a faint blur.

"I wonder what this is all about," Minato pondered.

Sakumo shrugged, stepping aside and letting the two of us out. "It didn't seem bad," he said. "But I'd be prepared. Honestly, I'm guessing that it might have to do with your suspension."

"I really, really, _really_ hope it's not extended," I groaned. I huffed. "Alright, then…we'll see you in a bit."

The Hatake grinned and nodded, waving his farewell as we left the hallway—and then, the compound. The office wasn't too far away, the walk was just under three minutes and a rushed walk crushed two minutes out of the standard timing. We were knocking on the door probably about thirty seconds in of entering the academy.

"Come on in," Hiruzen invited, and we came on in.

Minato bowed a little. "You summoned us, Hokage-sama?"

He smiled. "Yes," he replied. "As it turns out, a few carts were about the pass the Kannabi before it exploded. I had sent some investigation squads out to see what had happened, and sure enough, they were a trading caravan that supplied major things for Iwa that includes bombs, weapons and general warring tools. Apparently, they were just about to cross the bridge before it exploded."

I blinked in surprise, casting a side glance to Minato—who seemed just as taken aback as I was. I looked at the aging Kage. "That was a trading route?" Provided I already knew—but, honestly, it wasn't like I could just _trust_ Saturn so easily.

He nodded, a proud expression blanketing his face. "Yes. And thanks to the fact that you destroyed it, we have the upper hand in the war." He smiled again, but this time it was wider. "Accident or not, you completely turned the tables and indirectly took out five squads of chūnin and a squad of jōnin in that large forest fire. I'm impressed."

"Oh…um, t-thank you, Hokage-sama," I said sheepishly, bowing respectfully. The praise was…flattering, and I was really glad to be getting it. But it was also shocking, because what did this mean?

"I hereby lift your suspension," Hiruzen went on. He pulled my weapons and headband out of a drawer, setting it down and sliding it towards me. "And, as Hokage, I reward you a promotion to a full-fledged jōnin." His smile got bigger as my eyes got wider. "Congratulations, _jōnin_ Uzumaki Uchiha Haruto."

* * *

 **I honestly forgot what Yoru means. It has to do with the night? But the dog is a character from one of my first few stories on this website. An eh one…you can definitely see the novice in it (name: Legend of the Blind Shinobi…if you're interested? It's on my Uzumamein account).**

 **Questions can come my way via PM. Don't worry, I don't bite :^)**

 **Next chapter might be a bit heavy. Mainly for Haruto, though, because honestly she's coming across as a hard ass with no weakness and total jackassery…to me, at least. lol.**


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